


Unchained Memories

by Dr_Megamind



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Bakura Is Bakura, Gen, Messed-up Family, Nobody Likes Bandit Keith Anyway, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychic Violence, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-04-22 18:33:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4845935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Megamind/pseuds/Dr_Megamind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I vaguely remembered the Shadow Game in which Ryou sacrificed his soul to win, the Shadow Game that landed me here. At the same time though, the most vivid memory I had of it was the end. It was him, telling me that he would take care of me, that he would make sure I would not be aware of what was happening to me. That it would be over before I knew it.</p>
<p>"You." I hissed, as I tried to foce myself on my feet. "You liar."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Everything is always so dark in here. And cold, of course. It's always cold too.

Five hundred. Four hundred and ninety three. Four hundred and eighty six.

I have to stay focused. When I am focused they seem to have less interest in me.

Four hundred and seventy nine. Four hundred and seventy two. Four hundred and sixty five.

I'll add and subtract and recite. I have to be focused.

Four hundred and fifty eight. Four hundred and fifty one. Four hundred and forty four.

Those leeches always come back, no matter how focused I am. But when I am focused it is easier to remember what is real. And it is easier to hold them back even for few, precious moments of clarity.

Four hundred and thirty seven. Four hundred and thirty. Four hundred and twenty three.

When I am focused, feelings are more blurred than they would be otherwise. But I think that sometimes it brasses  _them_  off too and the thought of that terrifies me. It also makes a small irrational part of me that is still intact happy to know that I can still fight back. It is  _satisfied._

Four hundred and sixteen. Four hundred and nine. Four hundred and two.

Satisfaction is not right. It is dangerous to feel more than necessary in here. They always come back whether I am focused or not. Feeling good feelings is bad. They are attracted to good feellings more than they enjoy negative ones.

Three hundred an-

I lose focus when the white light comes. I always lose focus then.

* * *

Regaining consiousness is never pleasant for some reason. The buzzing in my loaf that made me want to smash my skull in was highly discouraging me from sitting up, so I decided that it was as good a time as any to just lay down and take a nap. And maybe I  _would_  have taken a nap was it not for the uncomfortable lumps of something and the sensation of liquid on my back, or the stench of sweet rot hanging in the air. Sighing in defeat, I surrendered to the notion that a nap was out of the question.

My legs were wonky and I barely managed to stand up, but in the end I did it. I remained still for a few seconds to ensure that I would not fall again and when that didn't happen I sighed in relief. Relief that quickly turned to bewilderment as I took in my surroundings.

The sensation of vertigo was so overwhelming that I almost lost my balance. As I regained my footing, my pulse quickened. Everything around me was a filthy white color, while the floor was flooded and littered with flowers that were either rotten or halfway there. I could recognise a few- the sunflowers and the asphodil, as well as the orange lillies and the baby's breath. There were a lot more but my knowledge on flowers had reached its limit.

The place itself looked rather harmless; however I was more worried of what might be lurking here. There was this feeling of something being...  _wrong,_ although I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

After spending a good amount of time just standing and waiting for something to happen, I decided that it would be better to take a look around. Whatever it was that was waiting for me would eventually get to me whether I stayed where I was playing the tree or wandered farther into this. As I walked, the sensation of something being wrong increased and it did not take long for me to figure out what it was that created it.

This place was stale. The water in my feet was neither warm, nor cold and the smell of rot coming from the flowers was old, as if they had been here for days on end. It was cold but not unbearably so, even in my current state of undress. Even my footfalls seemed wrong to me. I was walking on water, but the only thing I seemed to hear was small, dull thuds.

_Seemed. Maybe that's the key word here. I am not an expert on how feet sound on water, that's for_  sure.

But I had spent two weeks every summer in my Mom's birth house in London every year. I  _knew_ what feet sound like on water and I didn't remember ever hearing something like this. The sound was somehow pallid, strengthless.

Sending away any reservations I had about what I was about to do, I cupped my hands in front of my mouth.

" _Hey! Anybody here?_ " I shouted at the top of my lungs. Maybe this place did not have any walls, or ceiling, but I had hoped that maybe there would've been an echo. However, there had been none and the sound of my voice was muffled, like I had covered my mouth with my hand, instead of doing exactly the opposite.

Wherever I was, it was a dead land. Nothing good ever happens in dead lands.

The sudden sting on the sole of my left foot was almost welcome after a while. Any sensation at all would be welcome, even if I had to start smacking myself on the head to get it. Looking down to face the culprit, I found a dark crimson rose bud, still fresh, lying on my feet. Its stark contrast with this dead world was startling. Nothing seemed to be muffled, or old about it. I quickly picked it up and even welcomed the sting of its thorns on my fingers. This flower was so vibrant, so alive! The velvet-like softness of its petals was magnificent and its smell sweeter than anything I had ever smelled in my life. When it was in my hands, everything seemed brighter somehow, easier, less insane. It lulled my senses into a sense of security I couldn't remember feeling for a long time.

"Beatiful, isn't it?"

My eyes widened at the sound of the unexpected voice and I turned around so fast I almost lost my balance. Chocolate brown eyes met my own shocked ones with a hint of mirth in their depths.

"I like it too. It makes me sad that there can be only one."

The girl sighed and flipped her white locks behind her back. I was left there staring at her in horror as she picked up a couple of flowers and began to weave them together.

"What is this?" I finally managed to whisper.

"Hm?"

She raised her head and looked at me questioningly. "But why, they are flowers of course. What else could they be?"

"Who the bloody hell  _are_ you?" I demanded.

"I thought it was obvious."

She picked another flower from the floor, adding it to the rest. I said nothing else and waited for her to explain. As she finished, she noticed me staring at her and sighed in exasperation. "I am you, silly."

"No you are not." I responded immediately, although I had been expecting a similar answer anyway. After all she  _did_ wear my face. "It is impossible. I am right here. This doesn't make any sense."

She giggled and the sound was so childish that caught me off guard. I didn't know what to do with her, however I was perfectly certain of what to do with myself. Get the bloody hell away from here.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Who knows what sort of danger may be lying around here! Indeed, such a dangerous place for a young lady to wander on her own!" she exclaimed happily and a million alarms went off in my head at her voice. The voice she used was undoubtedly mine- but there was something lying underneath that voice that made my blood freeze. "Why don't you take a seat? We could make a crown for me as well! Surely you remember how. Eight years is not  _that_ long and if I can do it, you can do it as well!"

My head was about to burst with fear at the new tone of voice, the childish tone barely covering the malice hidden underneath, malice that was not there a second ago.

"Come on sister." she repeated and patted the empty spot beside her. "Let's...  _play_  together, what do you say?"

There was nothing childish in her voice anymore.

"You are not my sister." I heard myself say before I could stop. "And I want nothing with that bloody crown of yours. Stay away from me."

Her hands froze with a flower half-woven in the crown. Her lips parted and she grined widely, exposing every single one of her teeth. They were not human, but jagged and sharp as broken glass. Her eyes were hidden behind her bangs but that did not stop my heart from missing a couple of beats.

"I do not appreciate you throwing a wobbler at me sister. I really don't. It... irritates me."

"I... I'm sorry." I mumbled softly to appease her. It was so surreal; that girl was wearing my face and spoke in my voice. If she did not open her mouth at all, it would be like staring at a mirror image of myself. And yet she terrified me. Everything on her was wrong and twisted. I wanted to get away as fast as I could, however I didn't think that turning my back on her would be a wise decision.

"Oh dear, you think so poorly of me? Going behind someone's back is the coward's way isn't it?"

Her grin seemed like it was cutting her face in two and her eyes shone with madness. For a moment I was paralyzed from terror,

It was hard running on that flooded floor and the scattered flowers managed to make me trip more than once. However I kept running, not looking back. I  _had_ to get away, there was nothing else on my mind.

"I told you sister. This is not a place for a young lady to wander on her own."  _her_ voice said cheerfully right next to my ear, making me lose my balance. Before I had enough time to stand up once more, something heavy encircled my wrists. A pair of shackles had appeared out of nowhere, connected to the floor by a thick chain.

" _No!_ " I screamed in panic, pulling at the chains like a madwoman. " _No, no..."_

"Stop being a baby, will you? After all you brought this upon yourself." the girl said, matterializing a few feet away from me out of thin air, flower crown in hand. For some reason, this was the worst part about this whole situation, the threat of placing that...  _thing_ on my head. The mere idea of it touching me anwhere was revolting to the point of making me nauseus just thinking about it. I could feel myself going into hysterics. I pulled harder at the chains as she approached, begging her to not come any closer.

"You dropped it."

The disappointment in her voice was almost tangible and I snapped back into reality at her words. I stopped my attempt to break free and followed the direction of her eyes. There, in front of her feet lay the rose I was holding before. She bent and picked it up, staring at it lovingly, like a mother would look at her child.

"We've worked quite a while for this sister. It is not right to treat it like that."

That's what broke me. Her dissapointment, her chastising voice. I collapsed on my feet and sobbed. I couldn't take this. I couldn't take that face of hers, that grin and that crown.

The sound of her steps was getting louder and I could almost feel her looming over me. I screamed and screamed but this was all I could do and screaming is not a highly recommended form of self-defence against your insane doppelganger, or so it seemed.

"It's all your fault you know. You should have just done as you were told. But you just  _had_ to be the brave one, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry." I choked out between my sobs. "Please, just don't come any closer to me. Please."

She laughed at that, causing me to cringe. Her eyes were even more insane than before, that woman was a comlete nutter and I was at her mercy, with nothing to defend myself. Bending down, she he grabbed the chain of my shackles and effortlessly forced me on my knees, our faces so close that our lips were almost touching. Her breath stank of sweet rot and moldy bread and it was enough to make me nauseus but I locked my mouth and tried to hold it back. My breathing had become ragged and she simply stared at me with those eyes,  _my_ eyes and all I wanted to do is crawl away and if possible just die already.

She grinned again at that moment and I couldn't hold it back anymore. I puked in her face again and again until I had nothing left to puke out. She did not even flinch the whole time. Her face was covered in blood and the fluids of my stomach as was most of what I could see from her body.

"Are you done?"

I had to gather every single bit of whatever courage was left in me to nod my head.

"Now, that's better." she exclaimed happily and pushed me back. "Just sit still for a second Amane, this crown is a gift after all and it is rude to send back gifts. Rude people are so awful, don't you agree?"

I said nothing, just stared wide-eyed at the nutter in front of me. She raised the crown theatrically, not taking her eyes off mine, probably enjoying every single moment of what was going on. I could not protect myself and that bloody girl with her bloody crown knew it all too well.

"That's not very nice you know."

"Go fuck yourself."

It escaped my mouth before I completed the thought and I held my breath as she frowned for a moment. Then she burst into a fit of laughter that made me wish I could rip my ears off and stuff them in my mouth, just to prevent any future similar accidents.

"Maybe later."

It was times like this that I hate my mouth for its severe disconnection with my brain.

She moved too fast for me to be able to see her and the next thing I knew, she shoved her flower crown down my head and someone screamed. It took me a moment to understand that  _I_ was the one screaming, or feel the pain in my head. I pulled desperately at the chains on my hands, trying to reach my head and take that thing off but it was nothing short of impossible. All I could feel was the hot pain on my head, like someone had spilled melted iron on me. That and her laughter, that bloody, terrifying laughter of hers,  _my_  laughter as I screamed on and on.

* * *

I didn't know how long it's been. I couldn't scream any more. My body did not possess the necessary strength to even crawl and all I was able to do was lie there pathetically. I still felt the pain but I couldn't move a muscle. My body convulsed randomly but that was all.

The pain was maddening. I couldn't move and I couldn't scream but the pain... God help me, the pain wouldn't stop.

My body was completely out of my control but my mind was fairly intact. I could think, for one.

I wished I couldn't.

* * *

The pain began to subside slowly. I gasped at the slight relief and I almost burst in tears from happiness when the pain decreased even more. It subsided in a painfully slow rate but in the end the only thing left was my sore eyes and a slight headache. I tried to sit up but the moment I put the slightest pressure on my hands I hissed in pain and stopped. Turning carefully to my stomach I could see why.

My hands were practically in ribbons. Blood was gushing out of them and I noticed that the water underneath me was red, the flowers I was lying on completely ruined. Pushing myself forward with my feet, I tried to bring my body to a standing position despite the fact that the slippery floor made things much more difficult than they could have been otherwise.

"You are becoming boring. It's not any fun playing with you any longer. And you've made such a mess all over the place!"

"That's me caring." I shot back at her, still trying to stand.

My self appointed sister did not reply, opting to wait until I was able to sit up. Eventually I managed to reach a relatively more dignified position and for a while we simply stared at each other. Her face was back to normal, her eyes emotionless, her hair flawless.

"What was that?" I asked finally.

"Marigold and nightsade and cypress. And a touch of teasel flower, just for you _."_

"I did not mean your crown."

"It's  _your_  crown, not mine. Otherwise you would not be wearing it." she pointed out. "What do you have to say about all that mess?" she asked again. I did not answer, instead opting for the safest route of cursing my brains out at her.

"Nothing?"

"Blatantly."

She smiled at me. It was a completely normal, absolutely human kind of smile, but in its own way it was as terrifying as her other face had been. She came over to me and I cowered away, but all she did was grab me gently from my arms and help me stand. After she made sure I would not fall, she took a step back and eyed me apprehensively, staying a bit longer at my hands from where blood was still coming out.

"Don't worry, I'll clean up after you." she assured me sarcastically. "Oh. I almost forgot. Here."

She raised my left hand softly, taking care not to hurt me too much and placed something in my open palm. It was another flower, an apple blossom. I looked at her questioningly and she smiled sweetly at me . "It's a gift. An apple blossom."

She turned around and walked away, just when I realized that the water at my feet had already reached the middle of my shins. Understanding what she meant by "cleaning up", I called for her to come back, however she only turned around her head slightly, just enough for me to notice the same insane look from before. A very unwelcome bout of bravery overtook me and I growled, to which she responded by bursting into laughter, making me cringe.

Blatantly, I could expect no help from that direction.

Gritting my teeth, I made another attempt to slip my hands through the chains, thinking that maybe the blood would be of some help by making my hand slippery enough to pass right through, but of course nothing of the sort happened. My hands were stuck and the water had reached my navel. I pulled at the chains with more force than before, screaming as the pain on my wrists was getting worse and worse, however it was in vain. My own thumb acted as some sort of safe.

And of course, I could now see it. Of course. I had to break it. How did one go about breaking their bones though?

The water was ice cold and a bit soothing for my hands as it reached them, but I'd have a flutter it would not feel so good when it get inside my lungs. Just a random guess, but I'd never been drown before, not even here and I was not in that much of a hurry to learn how it felt anyway. That sealed the deal. Thumbs or no thumbs, I  _refused_ to be killed off like that.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled once more at the handcuffs and when they reached the thumb, I doubled the strength I used, trying my best to ignore the pain. My body protested against this new abuse and the exhaustion of my previous ordeal seemed to become that much more evident. My heart clenched from fear and pain but I could not give up now, I refused to die in this place. If I managed to free myself I might have a chance to escape alive, maybe that was what the point of this really was. If I needed to break both my thumbs to survive this then bugger it, I would break them like Kit Kat bars.

_That sounds demented_ , chuckled a voice in my head.

"Well I am all ears for any idea on  _your_ part you bloody smartass." I murmured furiously.

I could feel the strain on my finger as the skin surarounding it had been peeled and gone towards the nails. Blood was gushing out freely and I could see the white of my bone. I howled in agony and stopped for a second to catch my breath and calm down my heart. Looking down at the horrid image of exposed flesh and bone,  _my_  exposed flesh and bone, I shuddered.

_It's almost like peeling a banana_ , I mused for a second and then gagged at the image.

The water had reached my breasts by the time I had gathered enough courage to go through with what needed to be done. I felt my limbs stiff and tears overflowing. Shaking my head to clear my vision, I inhaled deeply and with a scream released my hand from the cuff. The sound of my bone breaking made my stomach clench, the actual sight of my shattered thumb making me puke a little. However there was no more time to waste, not with the water so close to covering my breasts completely. I sobbed as I fought against my own trembling body for control, as I felt it ready to collapse from the shock of what I had done. I had to hold onto conciousness no matter what, I refused to die here.

Holding my breath, I began the process all over with the other hand. This time though, the pain was ten times worse, making it that much harder to free myself. My vision was slowly fading to black and my heart felt like it would explode in my chest. Cold sweat was going down my forehead and the back of my neck, my breath fast and irregular. I had to calm down before I did anything else, I knew, because at this rate my legs would simply not support me anymore. Ignoring my instict that told me to hurry up, to finish this and finish it  _fast_ , I closed my eyes and began to inhale and exhale slowly, regaining some semplance of composure as well as a relatively more normal heart rate. It was becoming harder and harder to focus though and I suspected that that couple of buckets of blood I had lost were probably catching up with me. I mumbled a few curses as I steeled myself for yet another try at freedom.

This time I couldn't bother with taking it slow, not with the water reaching my chin. Adrenaline was pumping in my veins and with one last breath, I pulled my hand as hard as I could, not stopping when the muscle was shredded, or the strain on my wrist became almost too much. I could not hold back neither my screams nor my tears, but I had to finish this before my body broke down. Putting what was left of my strength behind one last chance, I ripped my hand out of the handcuff. For my fatigued body, that was the last stroke.

It took me a second to realise that I could no longer breath. The sudden sensation of being covered with ice-cold water drove me into panic and this time I did not have the luxury of taking deep breaths to calm myself or even waiting a second longer. I could already feel the lack of oxygen and I desperately tried to make it back to the surface, however my hands were too numb to be of any use to me and my legs could no longer offer any support. Despite my efforts I had barely managed to stand, let alone fight to get my head above the water.

I was going to die.

The sudden realization of exactly how hopeless this situation was filled me with despair. I looked at my ruined hands, the blood that was still gushing out creating intricate patterns in the water, coloring everything around me red. I couldn't help but admire the beauty of it all; the stark contrast of bright red on the white world around me. I tried to raise my hand, however I found that I could no longer move. I was so cold and as black dots appeared before my eyes and I slowly slipped into uncosciousness, I decided that maybe I  _would_ manage to take a nap after all.

* * *

I could only wish that death from drowning did not actually have any after effects. Besides, it's not like that was the first time I had died, not even close. But this- this was just bollocks. My eyelids weighted a ton but at the same time it hurt to keep them closed and my body was so sore I was certain I'd creak like a door in need of some serious oiling if I tried to move. A groan escaped me as I stirred a bit, trying to force some life back into my numb limbs. I concluded that it wasn't a bad idea to rest a bit longer; after all it is not very often that someone can have the pleasant reprieve of a dreamless sleep in hell. However I was forced to reconcider when, in my attempt to get a bit more comfortable, I realised that I was in fact snuggling against something soft and warm, or rather someone. My fists tightened.

With a shriek I fought against the hands holding me, scrambling away as fast as possible, trying to put some distance between me and whoever the bloody hell was after me this time. Which was all well if I didn't take into consideration the fact that my body was not able to support any sort of movement at this point still, so when my legs gave up on me almost instanteneously, I was left only with my admittedly admirable ability to curse at everything that moves as my last defence.

"Amane! Amane it's okay, it's me!"

My head snapped towards the direction of the voice and I stared incredulously at the purple-eyed boy that was smiling softly at my direction. Of all the things, all the people I expected to see, he was the last one. I vaguely remembered the Shadow Game in which Ryou sacrificed his soul to win, the Shadow Game that landed me here. At the same time though, the most vivid memory I had of it was the end. It was him, telling me that he would take care of me, that he would make sure I would not be aware of what was happening to me. That it would be over before I knew it.

" _You."_ I hissed, as I tried to foce myself on my feet. I was wonky at best, unable to stand at all at worst. " _You liar._ "

He rushed to my aid, grabbing my arms gently. I swatted his hands away as hard as I could. " _Don't touch me you sad bastard!"_ I screeched at the top of my lungs. " _You lied to me! You said..._ you said... you..." I trailed off as sobs began to rack my body and this time, when his hands fell hesitantly on my shoulders, I leaned in and took as much comfort as I could out of it. I knew in my gut that this was real, that the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle really was standing next to me. I felt so grateful for his presence, he wouldn't harm me, I knew he wouldn't and that was all I could ask.

"Amane, I am sorry." the spirit muttered. "But it's going to be ok now. I will take you out of here."

I turned to look at him with wide eyes, the meaning of his words slowly registering into my brain.

"Wh- _What_?" I managed to choke out.

"There isn't enough time to explain right now, but I promise you- it will be alright."

For a split second, my entire being rebelled against what he was saying, coming up with all sorts of explanations for why this was most definitely just another way of breaking me, playing with my deepest desire. But there was something about his comforting smile, his warm hand on my shoulder. Hope blossomed into my heart, unexpected, all-consuming. He was the one who had substitued my soul for my brother's. It only stood to reason that he was able to save it as well.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins and the previous weakness of my body suddenly meant very little. I jumped on him without warning and hugged him full-force, unable to convey my feelings for him with just words.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I muttered into his chest, my voice hoarse from my attempts to suppress the new round of tears that was just around the corner.

"You don't need to." he assured me. For what felt like the first time in forever, a huge grin broke across my face as I released him.

"Alright!" I yelled as I twirled around and placed my hands on my hips. "It's time to go!"

"Uh... Amane... um..."

The spirit cleared his throat awkwardly and I turned to look at him questioningly. "What is it?"

"Uh... well..." he motioned in my general direction, his face cherry red, his eyes cast in any direction but mine.

"Huh?" I looked around, before a small chill made me fully aware of the problem. With a shriek I tried to cover my nudity as best as I could, while every ounce of blood in my body proceeded to move on my face. But it wasn't only embarassment that I felt.

Oh no, it sure as bugger wasn't.

"You... you...  _you bloody pervert!"_

Needless to say that I was merciless; there are simply some things you mention to a lady before you announce her impending rescue from hell. When I was done, a very sizeable lump, that was created through repeated and quick in succession smacks on the head, decorated the top of a very, very repentant spirit's head. He had turned his back on me, holding his school jacket in my general direction. I grabbed it with a huff and buttoned it all the way up. It barely reached my mid-thighs and I probably would be unable to move freely, but it was better than nothing.

"You may turn around now you pervert." I announced coldly, glaring at him as he made eye contact. He just shook his head at me, although his cheeks were still red. His fingers clamped down on mine and there was a brief sensation of  _sidestepping-_

* * *

There was not much difference from where we were before. It definitely was not how I remembered "out of the Shadow Realm" to look like. Then my eye fell on the board with the tiny people closely resembling Yugi Moto's friends dressed up for Haloween on it, along with Yugi Moto himself. On the one end the spirit was staring intendly at his opponent, whom I certainly did not need to look at to know who it was.

Nostalgia hit me as I took in the spiky white hair that framed a face so similar to mine, a face I had missed so dearly. I felt the need to rush at him and hug him, grab the chance to talk to him and feel him safe in my arms. However a look in his eyes was enough for me to snap out of it. Those were not the eyes of my sweet, quiet brother, not in a million years. And of course there were other feelings of my own. I caught the spirit staring at me with curiosity in his eyes, so I quickly composed myself.

"How did this happen?" I asked quietly, eyeing the board. Seriously, was that the only bloody idea the spirit of the Millennium Ring could think of? I mean, if it didn't work the first time around, what made him think it would work this one?

"The spirit of the Millennium Ring managed to find his way out of the Shadow Realm on his own at some point. Bakura was probably not even aware of his return, well, until he took over."

"That's not what I meant."

"The Millennium Puzzle is a powerful magical object."he answered with a sigh. "Even I don't know the full extend of its abilities and trust me- I've been in there for quite a while."

"Yeah but how will you-"

"I can't keep this up much longer. I need to win this Amane and not only your soul depends on it anymore." he cut in. "I will answer any question you may have later."

"I  _will_  hold you on that."

He smirked and, as the flow of time restored itself, I sent a quick prayer to whomever might be listening.

_Don't let him lose._

* * *

What's the first reaction you have when somebody appears out of nowhere in front of you? Well, let me tell you that it's not this:

" _Ah_!  _Another_ Bakura? With  _boobs_?"

" _Joey_!" yelled the brown-haired girl next to him, smacking him on the head with her staff. "Pay him no mind..." she trailed off, expecting me to introduce myself.

"I am Bakura Amane, Ryou's twin sister." She opened her mouth but I interrupted her, knowing what she would ask next. "I am dead, that's why." Her eyes widened in surprise, as did the eyes of her friends. "And I think you still have not introduced yourselves yet." I said with a sympathetic smile.

That seemed to snap them out of their shock. "Of course, how rude of me! I am Tea Gardner, nice to meet you!"

"I'm Yugi Moto."

"The name's Tristan Taylor!"

"And I'm Joey Wheeler!"

"Nice to meet all of you." I smiled.

"Oh? So I don't even get a greeting? You hurt my feelings sister."

I turned my head slowly to look at the owner of the mocking voice. I stared at him coldly before offering him a tight-lipped smile.

"Weren't you rotting somewhere in here? Or did the Shadows began feeling small and inadequate in front of you and spat you out?"

His grin grew wider.

"My, aren't you stroppy today! Did you not enjoy your stay in the Shadow Realm little sister?"

"Actually, you bloody pompous arse,  _I_  am the big sister. By five minutes, no less." I corrected him through gritted teeth. "And you can sod off as well." I spat for good measure.

He opened his mouth to reply, but the spirit cut in before he had the chance.

"Make your move Bakura. We don't have all day."

Bakura's attention snapped back to the game and he smirked.

"Oh I'll move. And you will lose. This is the play that'll give me the match and will win me your Millennium Puzzle!"

He slammed a card on the board and a miniature version of the woman depicted on it appeared on the bard. "First I will play the Lady of Faith in attack mode. And then the card that will turn your friends against one another. The Change of Heart!"

"The Change of Heart? Isn't that Bakura's favorite card?" asked Yugi.

"And a very magical card it is. With this card I can turn you against your comrades. The very friends you sought to protect, you will now destroy!"

The spirit's expression hardened, however the silent rage in his eyes indicated he could do nothing to prevent it.

"No, I refuse!" Yugi yelled angrily.

"You won't have a choice in the matter. The Change of Heart allows me to control any opposing monster. And I choose you little Yugi."

"Leave the young one out of this!" the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle spat, causing a grin to appear on Bakura's face.

"Why should I? By simply destroying him, I defeat you as well. You are here to try to protect him? Then protect him against this!" he shouted and placed a second card on the field, which generated a strong white light to engulf the field.

"Yugi!"

When the light was gone, a white-haired boy was standing on top of the card, with an angel and a demon wing on his back, sporting a white robe. Almost instantly, a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders, longing for my brother taking over me completely. I reached out to him, whispering his name. His eyes met mine and shock, along with recognition shone in them.

"No, it can't..."

"I- I'm so..." I stumbled upon my own words as past memories came forth, accompanied with guilt and shame. "I missed you little brother."

I had to settle for the only thing that had been a constant throughout my entire stay in the Shadow Realm. I tried to keep those emotions in check, allowing only my relief to show on my face. Thankfully, Ryou made this far easier when a very familiar glint of stubborness surfaced in his eyes, something I hadn't seen since we were children- or since the Monster World game that came so close to costing him his own soul.

"I am  _not_ the little brother!"

"Five minutes Ryou. Five. Whole. Minutes." I shot back with a smirk.

"Five minutes mean absolutely nothing!"

A chuckle escaped my mouth. "Now now Ryou, you would probably want to waste less energy arguing over the fact that you  _are_  the younger twin and more thinkng how to end this game. And I will not lie to you- you look like a bum chum in that dress."

His face turned fifty shades of red at the comment. "It's a  _robe_! And nobody says 'bum chum' for God's shake!" he yelled in an outrage. I couldn't stop myself from bursting into laughter and soon the others followed.

"That's enough!" Bakura suddenly screamed, cutting our laughter short and acting as a reminder of how grave the situation really was. Nobody needed be reminded of what was at stake here- even if I didn't know the exact details, I could easily tell what the Game was without someone explaining anything to me. Sadly for him, Bakura was not a very original person.

I gave Ryou a nod, a silent understandig passing between us in less than a second. I reached for his presence, sensing the bond connecting us with every fiber of my being. A familiar warmth washed over me and, before Bakura had enough time to understand what we were doing, Ryou and I were both engulfed in a soft white light, as I offered him my energy, considerably stronger in a Realm of souls, to use as a means to an end.

"Alright!" he nodded and quickly flied to Bakura's Lady of Faith. "We want to help but we must act quickly Yugi!"

The monster shivered and Ryou appeared in its place. "I've taken over one of  _his_  cards instead of yours! I will control her while you attack  _me_! That way you will win against the evil Bakura!"

"But I can't! I will be destroying you, sending you to the Graveyard!"

Ryou's eyes were determined and in them there was a fire I had never seen before.

"I don't care! It's better than being enslaved by an evil spirit!  _Do it_!"

" _No_!" I screamed in panic, turning to the spirit of the Puzzle, who seemed equally astonished. "You have to do something!"

"Be quiet!" shouted Bakura, fear and rage clear in his voice.

"I have a better idea." the spirit said as the Eye of Horus shined on his forehead along with the Puzzle. The light hit straight on Bakura and made him scream. "If the evil power of Bakura's Millennium Ring can pull souls  _from_  people, then perhaps the power of my Puzzle can put them back!"

And just like that, Ryou was now the one sitting in Bakura's place and Bakura was a monster wearing a hat twice the size of his head. My mouth was agape at the quick turn of events and before I had enough time to register how the tide of the Game had turned in our favor, Yugi pointed his staff at Bakura.

" _Dark Magic Attack!_ "

Bakura screamed as a ray of energy fell on him and, as the space around us began to crumble, Ryou's hand found mine and we held onto each other for dear life- until we did not.

* * *

There was a light breeze. That was my first thought.

_There goes the bloody headache again._ I complained mentally, as I fought the migraine off and opened my eyes. Blinking to clear my vision, I took in the night sky and the trees, as well as the bodies that had just began to stir back to conciousness.

_Sky?_

_Trees?_

_Bodies?_

I jumped on my feet, taking in everything in my line of vision hungrily, as understanding finally downed on me.

I was finally out of the Shadow Realm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you must know that the duels will not be presented in their entirety since Amane is not all that interested if it is not something important… (and frankly, I simply cannot sit and go through every single duel. I don't have that kind of time or that kind of patience.)
> 
> (Edited: 29/07/2014. Special thanks to TTY7.)

I had to admit it. It was rather bizzare.

I inhaled deeply, taking in the smells of the forest.

_Ah, smells like freedom._

_More like smells like trees, dirt and I think something died close by,_ a voice in my head interrupted my thoughts.

I scowled and pointedly ignored the voice in my head. Sensing someone's eyes on me, I turned to see the spirit of the Puzzle standing behind me with his arms crossed in front of his chest. I had to admit it, that guy looked cool, no matter the situation. It was kind of a let-down, considering that-

"Wait a minute." I held up my finger taking him in. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes as he waited for me to finish my scrutiny. "Something is not-  _b_ _loody son of a bitch! When did you get that jacket back!_ "

I jumped and tried to cover up again, only this time my hands fell on soft wool and a rough material. Looking at myself I found that I was wearing a vest over a white shirt and a pair of jeans- the same as Ryou. Sighing in relief I gave the spirit an apologetic grin. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay, no one got hurt  _this_  time."

"You did have it coming." I shot back at him. "But um... sorry. About what I said."

"No, don't." he sighed. "I gave you a promise and I... I didn't keep it. I should have protected you from that."

"You couldn't have known. And it's okay, really. After all you came for me." I smiled, feeling guilty about bringing that up now.

There was an awkward silence for a while, and it would be a lie on my part to say that I wasn't just a bit relieved about the scream that broke it.

"What was that?" I yelled surprised, but the spirit had already dissappeared and the rest of the gang had taken off towards the direction the scream had come from.

We reached a place where a big…machine…thing was, where a blond girl was manhandled by a guy at least four times Joey and Tristan, who were the strongest blokes in the team, who happened to have an uncanny resemblance to that clown from Stephen King's It. Ryou had seen that movie once. I was so scared that I was not able to go near any sort of basin for some time and I am the ghost here. Well, except Bakura, though he would probably be the one to freak the clown out of his hair.

"Mai! Are you okay?" shouted Yugi.

"You are too late." she whispered, causing them all to come to a halt. I, of course, did not notice that, so I fell on Joey. Or I _would_  have fallen on Joey, if I wasn't a bloody ghost. Ghost or no ghost, eating dirt was not among my to-do list for my first day out of the Shadow Realm.

"Too late for what?" asked Tea worried.

"Is dat freak givin' ya a hard time?"

"That's right. Just like Pegasus pays me to do. Find out all the dueling filth on the island and dispose of it."

"Doesn't that make you a garbage man?" mused Tristan, making me chuckle.

"This is no joke!" Mai snapped at Tristan. "He is one of the island's eliminators and if you don't get out of here he is gonna do to you what he did to me!"

"Eliminator? What's that Mai?" asked Yugi.

"It prettty much explains itself you berk." I muttered, rolling my eyes.

The clown grabbed Mai's hand violently and raised it, showing off a crimson glove that was the same as the one Yugi and Joey sported, as I noticed.

"Look! This is what she means, right here. Check out her duelist's glove, not a star chip left!"

A duelist's glove? I blinked for a moment, not quite comprehending what was going on.

"But that would mean she's been disqualified!" exclaimed Tea worriedly.

"You're out Mai?" asked Yugi surprised.

"I am." she confirmed ashamed. "It all happened so fast! The way Panic duels…I just… lost it."

Duels? My mind went back to the Shadow Game with Bakura, where the spirit of the Puzzle and he had played Duel Monsters. Despite the fact that Ryou was more of a role-playing type of person, he was also quite knowledgeable in the card game and he had began to build a deck by the time I... left.

"This isn't right." murmured Tea.

Bloody. Hell. This was about Duel Monsters.

"Ha! She was one of my easiest victims yet!" bragged Panic and pushed her hard toward us, almost causing her to fall. Well, well, looks like someone must have a couple of lessons over proper behaviour around a lady. And if I had any say on the matter, a big metal pipe on his head. It was surprising, how many things a metal pipe could accomplish.

"You creep!" shouted Joey and made to attack him. Tristan and Ryou held him back, trying to calm him down. Good thing too, because that clown was sure to turn him into a big, broken pile of flesh. "Move it! There is no excuse for pushing a girl!" he spat angrily, fighting against them.

"Calm down Joey, I know how you feel but that guy is twice your size!" Ryou tried to reason with him.

"I could take him!" he insisted.

"No Joey, fists aren't the answer. Violence won't solve anything. I've dealt with a lot of bullies in my life and I am afraid there is just one way to deal with him." Yugi cut in, anger clear on his face. It was a bit of a surprise to hear him talk since I had forgotten he existed for a second there.

"What do you mean?" asked Joey.

"You have to stand up to them!"

"But Yugi…" Mai started, but Yugi ws in a roll and no one could stop him. It was kind of heartwarming watching him stand up for his friends, although this would probably end with something bloody and broken and it would not belong to Panik.

"Now let's see you try your intimidation tactics against  _me_  Panic! I don't scare easy, especially when I am standing up for my friends!"

"So let's duel!"

The spirit of the Puzzle and Panik stepped on the platforms that were attached to the machines and they immediately began to rise till they reached the boards on them. It seemed like quite expensive equipment and I still could not see the point of spending so much money for a children's card game like Duel Monsters. And how did Panic come to possess such technology was beyond me as well.

"Alright Yugi, no prob! Show Panic here how we deal with dogs like him!" shouted Joey encouragingly.

"Yugi huh? It must be my lucky day! Pegasus has promised a generous bounty to the eliminator who defeats you! I wonder… Think he's going to give some extra cash for inflicting bodily harm? Not that I wouldn't do it for free…" Panic shouted exitedly, obviously not opposed to beating a minor to a pulp. Rather enarmored with the idea in all honesty.

The spirit however didn't seem to be all that worried, in fact I would say he was bored. Which was strange, taking into consideration the fact that a guy four or five times his size was openly threatening to beat him up. Instead he answered Panic's threat almost as if he was talking to a child throwing a wobbler.

"You better start thinking of other ways to make money Panic, because after I get done with you... not only will you be out some star chips, but you'll be out of the job."

"Who said I was an eliminator just for the money Yugi? I have made enough cash to have retired long ago! But I won't quit, because there is no better thrill than breaking weak duelists like you! So get ready Yugi! I am about to take you in a world of hurt!"

Oh right. He was not just a freaky clown, he wass a  _sadistic_  freaky clown who enjoyed winning in a card game more than anything. I had to wonder though, why was that guy getting paid for this? Wasn't this a Duel Monster's tourney? Why was a blatantly not-so-stable chap allowed to not only compete, but earn money from this?

"I won't be bullied by the likes of you Panik!" the spirit spat defiantly."I play with my heart. That's why I always win against your type!"

"You've never faced my type before! When I am in a match with someone, there is much more than sheer dueling strategy…"

"Huh? Meaning?" asked the spirit obviously taken aback by Panik's latest declaration.

"Panik is ruthless Yugi!" shouted Mai. "He had me totally terrified!"

"That's right and she is not the first either! We eliminators build our career on stalking weak players like her and forcing them to duel us! You see, when you are as good as I am, you learn to appreciate the hunt as much as the duel itself! And now I'm gonna take you down just like I did Mai!" Panik announced, proud of hmself. And why not? I mean, what kind of mother wouldn't want her child to grow up and become just like Panik?

"I see how you work Panik!" the spirit smirked mockingly. "Sneaking up on unsuspecting duelists because you don't have the courage to challenge them face to face!"

"Watch your mouth you insolent cub!"

"True duelists fight with honor and respect, not the underhanded tactics that the likes of you use. And to prove it, I wager all the star chips I have to win back Mai's!" the spirit continued to goad him, his voice loud and brimming with confidence.

Panik gritted his teeth. "It's a deal. If you win, I'll give you all eight of her star chips! The bet makes no difference to me!"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean little Yugi, is that when you duel against Panik, you put much more than your measly star chips on the line! Much more!" he laughed and pressed a buton that was equiped on his board. To everyone's surprise,  _shackles_  of all things, came out of the sides of Yugi's side and closed around his ankles, effectively trapping him there, while columns of fire came out of  _bloody flamethrowers_! What the bloody hell was the meaning of this? What bloody nutter equips flamethrowers on Duel Monsters arenas?

Panik let out a maniacal laughter. "What's the matter Yugi? Can't take the heat? Get used to it because you are stuck in for the long ride!"

"Take those off Panic!" shouted Joey enraged- and blatantly worried. I was worried about both Yugi and the spirit now as well. I didn't get what was going on in general, sure, but this thing had to be too much, especially considering that this was all about a children's card game!

"Panic used those on me too…" Mai mumbled under her breath.

I glared at her pissed. All that was happening because of her and yet she couldn't even say something beforehand? Like, I don't know,  _watch out for the flamethrowers?_

"Stay strong Yugi…"murmured Ryou.

I turned to look at him. He had changed so much since the last time I saw him, which I couldn't even know how long ago it was! He seemed a bit taller and his facial characteristics had lost much of their childishness. But what struck me harder, was the haunted, sad look in his eyes. I felt ready to cry, knowing that Bakura, after escaping the Shadow Realm had shown no mercy on him for foiling his plans. And what was worse was that it was my fault. Had I not accepted to help the spirit, Bakura would have won the Game and I would have stayed next to my brother, not forced to go to... that place. And maybe, just maybe, after taking his revenge for whatever reason against the spirit, Bakura would go away and Ryou and I could be happier… And even after the spirit won, Bakura still came back, making Ryou pay for something that was in truth my entire fault. And while Ryou suffered I was thinking only of myself, actually feeling  _angry_  at Ryou, like a coward who couldn't even face and accept her own mistakes. What kind of protector, of  _sister_  was I?

I chased away these thoughts. I couldn't allow myself to think like that, not now.

The spirit stood tall in front of Panic, not allowing himself to show any signs of being intimidated.

"I can see the fear in your eyes Yugi, see you quivering in your boots!"

"Get a life you psycho!" Tea shouted angrily.

"Forget dis guy Yug, this wasn't in the job description!" added Joey with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Yeah, no joke! Let's get you down from there Yugi, what do you say?" asked Tristan, trying to appear calm, though I could see the anxiety in his eyes and the little bids of sweat on his forehead.

The spirit simply huffed, the smirk never leaving his face ."Are you finished blowing smoke at me panic?"

His friends gasped and I shook my head in exasperation. "You really do deserve what's coming to you chap."

"Yugi!"

"What's he doing?" yelled Joey fearfully.

"It will take much more than cheap pyral technics to make  _me_  lose my cool."

Panic laughed, not hiding his amusement, though there was a second of surprise to the spirit's reaction to his "cheap pyral technics" that could probably deep-fry him.

"The last person who had the nerve to talk to me like that...",his expression becoming distorted with anger, "I broke them in half! Now let's duel!"

He drew five cards from his deck and made the first move. "Seeing how the blaze of my fire didn't faze you, let's turn down the lights! My Castle of Dark Illusions will turn this duel into your darkest hour Yugi! Its magic shrouds the field with a veil of shadows!" I tuned out the rest as I watched in awe a castle appearing out of nowhere, a dark aura surrounding it. However that was where my amazement stopped and my eyes bulged out of my head.

Shadows, true Shadows were coming off of this thing. I took a step back, absolute horror filling my head and, although it was impossible, I was almost sure I could listen to my heart pounding in my chest. How could someone like  _him_  summon the Shadows here? I felt my head spinning and suddenly I was in the dark, not a shred of light in sight. I began hyperventilating.

Panic laughed, forcibly turning my attention back to the duel, the darkness clearing a bit. "You would be if you knew… The fearsome nightmares within its shape! The blanket of shadows casted over my entire side of the field, making it impossible for you to see the creatures I summon, but leaves your entire side exposed!"

A whimper escaped me as the Shadows spread, covering Panic entirely. Fear had settled in my whole body and I wanted to run but couldn't. Nightmares I had experienced flashed before my eyes. There was a very real pain on my hands and looking at them, I found that my hands were in shreds, the thumbs dislocated and the bone showing. I screamed in agony as the blood gushed from them and the sickeningly sweet smell of rotting flowers filled my nostrils. I shut my eyes tight and when I pened them the pain dissapppeared and my hands were back to normal.

"How the darkness preys on your fears, on your mind and you are too scared, too terrified to fight!"

"Please stop it…" I whispered as I took my head in my hands. He laughed again and that was the final blow, what made my insticts kick into survival mode. I turned around and ran away, not truly caring where I was going, getting away from the Shadows was enough…

* * *

Once I couldn't run any longer, I sat down and tried to clear my head, which resulted in more sobs. I cried and screamed for what felt like hours on end, unable to stop.

When I finally regained my senses what I had done began to come down on me. Not only had I run away like a coward, I had also abandoned everyone behind me. I sniffed and new tears fell from my eyes, but as far as crying went, I was out for the day. Wiping my face on my sleeve I stood up and tried to sense Ryou's location through our connection. It was weaker than I remebered, which only served in filling me with guilt and shame. However it still did the job and I followed it back to Ryou. It was a long walk, something that gave me enough time to ponder today's events. Panik had somehow managed to bring Shadows on the field- but how? I should have sensed something, at least. No magical energy had come from him but I had  _seen_ them. Had he won? Since I could sense him still, it probably meant that he was alright.

_No, it means that he is alive. But alive is not alright now, is it?_

I quickened my pace, then thought about it for a second and ran as fast as I could.

As I reached the camp, I sighed in relief at the sight of Yugi and Ryou staring at the Millennium Ring, which was pointing towards a castle. I shook my head. I would not question the reason why a castle that looked like it came straight from the Middle Ages was in this place. There were enough things to worry about as it was.

"Can I ask where you were till now Amane?"

I jumped, startled at the sound of the spirit's voice and scowled at him. "I am sorry Mom, it won't happen again."

He chuckled. "I was just curious, that's all."

"Is everyone alright? You defeated Panik, right?"

"A coward with no respect for the Heart of the Cards could never defeat me." he answered reassuringly.

"He was a coward with flamethrowers." I deadpanned.

"Believe me, I noticed." he replied, rolling his eyes at me. "But what matters is that we are all okay now and I really doubt that we will ever hear from him again."

"Did anyone call the police? I really don't think you should risk it like that. The guy was nuts!"

"There will be no need for that. I made sure that he won't hurt anyone ever again."

For a moment there, I did feel relieved to hear it- only to realise that for someone the spirit's size, who was not much taller than Yugi and God knew Yugi looked like he was thirteen at most, was not in a position of making such statements with such certainty.

"You sent him to the Shadow Realm?" I asked coldly.

"No. But I crushed the evil in him. It will take time for him to rebuild himself and see the mistakes he did but it will also make him a better person." His eyes softened. "I would never send there someone who does not deserve it. Not anymore."

He shifted his gaze to the sky, guilt and shame written all over his face. I decided to drop the topic, since it was obvious that, whatever had happened at his past did not make him very proud about himself.

"Where are we anyway? It's pretty obvious we are not in Domino City anymore…"

"We are on Duelist Kingdom, an island that belongs to the creator of Duel Monsters, Maximillion Pegasus."

"And why are we here?"

"He took Grandpa's soul. I must defeat him and take it back. I must save him." he growled, his fists tightening.

I blinked. "Who's Grandpa?"

"Yugi's Grandpa. Pegasus took his soul to force Yugi to compete in his tournament."

"All of this commotion for a card game tournament?" I asked incredulously. "It's a children's card game for God's sake!"

"I am sure it's not about that. There has to be something that Pegasus wants from us. There is no other reason to go to such lengths to ensure that Yugi would come here."

"Oh. Well that makes a lot more sense. But how could that Pegasus-bloke remove a soul from its body? I mean except the obvious way…"

"Pegasus owns anoth-"

The spirit was interrupted by a sudden, extremely loud noise. I looked around and my jaw dropped when I saw that, of all things, a chopper had landed right next to our camp. Seriously, who does that? The spirit vanished and I ran up to Ryou. They all gathered behind Yugi and we waited together for the person inside to appear.

* * *

When the door opened, a distinctly familiar guy jumped out of the helicopter. He was tall, with brown hair and a long, blue trench coat that, with a closer look, seemed to defy gravity. He scanned the gang with cold blue eyes that eventually settled for a tree behind us.

"It's Kaiba!" Tea exclaimed with surprise, her blue eyes widening.

"What is he doing here?" asked Joey, clearly not amused to see him.

"I don't know. But he looks like he means business…" murmured Tristan, taking a step back. Now, I could understand the surprise that someone jumping out of a helicopter may cause, but the look on Tristan's eyes was once more to the anxious side.

Yugi went closer to the new bloke and after a bit of talking handed over a deck of Duel Monster cards.

"That snobby little…" growled Joey, who had blatantly heard something I had not, since he stomped over to Kaiba and grabbed him from his coat collar. "Hey, listen tough guy! I can understand you wanting to get your little bother back ya know, but don't go thinkin that you are the only one here with a noble cause, 'cause we all here have something worth fighting for! So if you want a piece of Pegasus get in line or deal with me! That's right hotshot, I ain't scared of ya!"

KAiba looked significantly less than intimidated and a lot less amused with Joey.

"Nice grip. Let me show you mine."

He gripped Joey's hand hard enough that he cringed in pain. With strength quite surprising for someone as scrawny as he was, he flipped Joey over, landing him on his back, all the while looking like he would fall asleep.

Yugi quickly kneeled next to Joey.

"Joey can you hear me? Are you alright?" he shook him with worry.

"That was uncalled for!" shouted Ryou. "Check his pulse Yugi!"

I gave Ryou an incredulous look. Joey's life could not be in danger from falling down, even if it was a hard fall. However he did look like he would stay down for a while longer. To everyone's and especially Kaiba's surprise though, Joey stood up and glared at Kaiba with rage.

"Do you really think I'm gonna let you and this little tournament delay me from finding Pegasus?" asked Kaiba annoyed.

If there was one thing I had learned today was that this Pegasus guy had no friends.

"Forget Pegasus! Now ya got me to deal with so bust out your cards and let's get it on!"

I couldn't believe that bloke. Sure, it took a lot to stand up after being hit like he had been, let alone after what we all had been through tonight. But to actually go looking for trouble like that... it sure took some leak in his brain. Maybe the fall was to blame.

"Forget it. Why don't you go look for an opponent you can actually beat. Like an infant. Or a monkey."

Rolling my eyes at their infantile behaviour, I decided that watching the two of them insult each other like five year-olds was simply not interesting enough to keep me around. I walked past them and took a sit under a nearby tree, trying to clear my head a bit and make sense out of the day's events.

I was lost in my thoughts, when a strong light came out of the ground, right in front of Joey and the others. I quickly abandoned my position and took a closer look. Just as I reached Ryou's gathered friends though, something came out of the light and I screamed. Because right there in front of me, staring down at Joey like it was ready for a full course meal, stood a giant cow dressed in bulky armor. In its right hand it held a massive axe and I'm pretty sure he wanted to mince Joey with it. My jaw fell open at the sight and I moved towards Ryou, in case Joey was not enough for the armored cow.

"No way! That's a hologram?" asked Yugi in awe.

A hologram? I blinked in confusion and stared closely at the monster, noticing for the first time that it stood above a... spinning top?

"A hologram of unsurpassable realism! It breaths, it snarls, my new dueling disk technology even simulates its odor!" Kaiba bragged.

As understanding finally downed on me, I slapped my forehead in desperation. Were those teenaged boys  _really_ solving their differences through Duel Monsters? This was nuts!

"You are tellin me. That thing really stinks! Good thing it won't be around for much longer!"

Joey placed a card on his… Dueling Disk and summoned his own monster, which was almost instantly creamed by Kaiba's. Kaiba was undeniably better than Joey and he won without breaking a sweat. By the end of the duel, I was amazed by the extreme quality of the holograms but I was also curious about a feeling that appeared only for a second or two, when Kaiba summoned his Blue Eyes White Dragon. I was almost positive that I felt  _someone_  there. It was gone so fast though that it could've been nothing more than my imagination.

Joey was on his knees, obviously not going through the happiest moment of his life. And the fact that Kaiba was making a joke out of his defeat, made me furious. I had no idea who this Kaiba bloke thought he was, but to me he sounded like a spoiled brat that could use a spanking. And not the good kind of spanking either. Tea, Tristan and Ryou made a beeline for Joey, as Yugi stared dumbfounded at his friend.

"It's okay kiddo." Tea consoled him in a sweet voice.

"I'd say my Duel Disk system has proven quite effective. Not only did its stunning realism forced Joey into complete and utter submission, but just look at him! He's moping like a frightened dog with his tail between his legs. Which is exactly how I intent to leave Pegasus."

"But… this is Joey!" murmured Yugi.

"Yeah you jerk! Did you have to take his confidence away with his dragon?" Tea shouted furiously. We had all seen how easily he defeated Joey; there was no need for him to rub it in the poor guy's face. I watched as Kaiba kindly explained why we all were a bunch of moronic losers that he would crush on his way to Pegasus and then walked away, forgeting his chopper behind. Ah, what a pit that no one could fly a helicopter. Surely his face would be worth a lot when he'd come back for it and find it gone in thin air. Smiling at the picture, I left the others to their own dvices and went back to my tree.

* * *

A few hours after Kaiba's departure and when everyoe went to sleep, the spirit of the Puzzle appeared next to Yugi's sleeping form. Taking a sit next to the fire the other had set up, he motioned for me to come closer.

"I am not a dog you know." I muttered with a pout but positioned myself opposite him anyway.

"Never said you are." he replies with a smirk.

For a while, he did nothing but answer my many questions, with his duel with Panik being my main concern. I felt so stupid for allowing myself to show so much weakness, especially after learning that these machines they had dueled on were in fact Duel Arenas and all the creatures that appeared on it were nothing but holograms, like those from Kaiba's Dueling Disks. He also explained to me about Joey and the need to raise the necessary money for his sister's eye operation, as well as the events that led to Yugi competing to this tourney. Eventually I ran out of questions and, after a few moments of silence he stood up and walked back to Yugi.

Sheer terror washed over me in the prospect of being alone again. But what should I do? I couldn't ask the spirit to stay with me, he surely was tired from the whole ordeal and I doubted that he wanted to spend the night in my delightful company. At the same time however I dreaded the moment I would have t stay here all alone with my thoughts. I was torn between playing it cool and not say a thing, allowing him some much needed rest, or finding an excuse to keep him awake with me. Part of myself was disgusted wth my even considering such a thing, acting like a child that couldn't sleep without its teddy bear.

In the end logic prevailed and I tried to keep a straight face as I wished him goodnight. But I suppose that my straight face wasn't so straight after all since, after giving me a look, his eyes softened.

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, of course not. What gave you that idea? I don't mind being alone! In fact, alone is my second name! That's right; you are talking to Amane Alone Bakura. See? I like alone! Alone is great, exquisite, bloody amazing!"

Good Lord, I just can't shut up when I am scared. Also, Amane Alone Bakura? Really brain?

He chuckled and sat across me. "I think that I'll stay right here tonight."

I felt so relieved that it kind of surprised me, but I was not about to admit that. I huffed and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

"Yeah, but not because of me. I totally don't mind being alone."

"Of course." he replied gently.

I gazed at the stars for a while, saying nothing, right before understanding downed on me.

"Spirit?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"What's your name? I really doubt it's "spirit"." I tried to joke- only to miserably fail.

He said nothing; he just turned his head to the direction of the forest.

"I don't know." he whispered finally, so quietly that I almost missed it.

"What do you mean you don't know? You don't have one?" I asked confused.

"I mean I don't know. I don't remember anything from my past. My memories begin the day Yugi solved the Puzzle and awakened me."

A blatant sign to change the topic. I should probably write a book about "How to make People Uncomfortable Around You". It would end up a best-seller too.

"So… how... um... how do you like the weather?"

This was gonna be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing… for now.

And a long night it was. For a while all we did was remain in an awkward silence, each of us waiting for the other to say something and it soon became apparent that the spirit was not going to be the one to do it. Eventually, I decided that the crazy bloke, who had left the unlocked, unattended chopper on a lunatic's private island, pulled spinning tops that produced holograms for a children's card game out of his silver briefcase and gloated over his victory against another teenager in said card game, was the safest topic of conversation at my disposal.

"So... who was that Kaiba kid? He didn't really sound like the rest of you rays of sunshine."

The spirit of the Puzzle quirked his brow at this, to which I replied with a wide grin. Smirking back at me in the end, he explained what little he knew about the Kaiba brothers' situation. It made me feel kind of a total wanker to have thought so badly of him and made a note to myself to apologize if I ever saw him again. After that, it was easier for us to talk. Not that there had not been roadblocks mind you- the spirit was insistent that I should talk to him about what had happened to me in the Shadow Realm. However I managed to dodge that bullet, so to speak, since there were few things I could remember with any semblance of accuracy anyway. There were flashes of what I had gone through but they were short and made no sense to me at all. I had no intention of digging any further than that either, so I asked the spirit as kindly as possible to leave that one alone. He nodded his agreement but from the frown on his face I could tell this was not quite  _his_  intention. The rest of the night went without farther unexpected attempts at playing "Dr. Phil" on his part so we managed to make idle chit chat. Eventually we ran out even of those topics and at around the break of dawn I was desperate enough to try my luck with the weather conversation again.

Thankfully, Joey chose that particular moment to interrupt yet another promise of revenge at Kaiba and wake up. During the course of the night he had yelled many of those and done so rather  _loudly_. I couldn't possibly figure out how the rest of the gang had managed to catch some sleep. The spirit and I were constantly caught of guard and a couple of times I had actually jumped on my feet.

Joey rubbed his eyes to chase off sleep and then decided that anyone in a ten-mile radius had enough sleep- no matter that it had roughly been five hours since the last human present fell asleep.

"Joey! What's going on?" asked Yugi sleepily, not really in touch with reality yet.

"Yeah, what is it Joey?" Ryou yawned.

"Nothin's wrong! It's just a brand new day in that tournament and I'm hot to find us a duel!"

A hand fell on my shoulder and I glanced at the spirit.

"I'll see you later." he smiled tiredly.

"Oh, sure, yeah. See you around." I nodded quickly. Poor bloke deserved his rest.

As the last sleeping people were roused and shot glares full of promises of eternal pain and torture at Joey, I took in my surroundings. They looked decidedly different in the light of day, that was for certain. It was a beautiful day, not bad at all for early autumn. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, not willing to miss a single sound of the forest. A sad attempt may I add- as it turned out, not one single of these berks could shut their mouth, even as they made their morning preparations.

It took some time for them to get ready- too long considering there was not nearly enough food for a long breakfast and in its majority consisted of left-over baked candy bars and canned fruit. When everyone was good to go, we went on our way with Joey and Tristan's silly bickering following us like a soundtrack.

"Did you hear that?" asked Joey  _again_. He was being paranoid for the last hour or so, looking around him suspiciously and jumping at every sound. Honestly, he looked like a blond Inspector Gadget. Only taller, blonder and without the coolest hat known to man. "I think we are being followed."

"I think you are getting a little paranoid Joey." Tea snapped exasperated.

"You've been acting hyper ever since you woke up this morning. Man, what is eating you anyway?" asked Tristan trying to hide his own irritation.

"I'm tellin ya! Somebody's stalkin' us!" Joey insisted and then, out of the blue took off.

"Where are you going?" yelled Tristan behind him.

"To stalk them!"

Brilliance is underrated in this show.

* * *

 

"Joey's been gone an awfully long time…" Yugi eventually voiced what we were all thinking.

"Could he be lost?" asked Tea.

"No way. But he could have been challenged to a duel."

"I bet that's it. I must have been on his case a little too hard so now he's gone off to find a duel all by himself." Tristan muttered guiltily.

"Okay, so let's split up and find him!" Ryou proposed enthusiastically.

I shot my brother a dirty look. With his luck he would most likely end up lost or falling off of a particularly high cliff. Furthermore, he was still wearing the Millennium Ring around his neck, something that I found particularly foolish. According t my humble opinion he could sell it and get a good prize for it too, what with it being such a rare and precious ancient Egyptian artifact. Or if he didn't want to, he could always just tie it to a rock, rent a boat and throw it to the deepest parts of the ocean. Both solutions worked just fine.

"Right! Yugi and Tea, you go that way. Bakura and I will go this way!" Tristan took the lead and each team followed the direction he had pointed us at. I sighed and followed Ryou and Tristan, hoping that no cliffs would come out of nowhere at our direction.

After spending a good amount of time running around and screaming Joey's name -well the others did, I was just following them and was watching out for cliffs to keep Ryou away from-we eventually headed back to the meeting spot. I was panting from all the running, which was weird considering that my lungs are long gone and buried in a cemetery. I stopped a few feet away and placed my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath, when I heard something about checking inside a cave. I felt my eye twitching but before my very special version of what might just happen to their limbs –even Ryou's- if they so much as considered going a step further could be expressed in a good several-hours-long rant, they took off.

"Aah! Wait for me, you bloody twits!" I shouted enraged and followed.

* * *

 

"What is this place?" asked Tristan a bit spooked by the atmosphere.

"Be careful. It could be some kind of trap." Yugi warned us.

There are two coffins in the entrance and I'd have a flutter that if we went a bit deeper in this cave we would probably find the serial killer that completed the set. So I couldn't hazard a guess where Yugi got  _that_ idea in his head...

"What's up with those coffins?" Tea whispered.

"Beats me! Who'd leave them just standing here?" Ryou wondered, putting a hand on one of the coffins and Tea followed suit.

"I swear Ryou, if you don't get away from that thing…." I trailed off when I saw the chain that kept the coffin closed start unwrapping itself from it.

Oh bugger.

The coffins opened and skeletons fell out, their hands gripping tightly Ryou and Tea's clothes. That's right. Skeletons. That Pegasus guy either was a maniac, or had an extremely sick sense of humor.

Ryou and Tea were running in circles screaming their bloody lungs out in the process and Tristan and Yugi immediately went to their rescue. Now, under any other circumstances I would have been terrified to see Ryou being harassed by a skeleton, but the whole image made me laugh so hard that if any of them could see or hear me, I would get some really strange looks. Eventually, Tristan got rid of Ryou's new friend with a punch and Yugi pulled that thing off of Tea, leaving her shuddering in disgust and fear.

"That Pegasus sure has a sick sense of humor." commented Tristan dryly.

"You said it Tristan." Yugi agreed.

* * *

 

We went –or should I say  _ran_ \- deeper in that cave, leaving behind us any last traces of light. I tried to focus on anything else than the almost absolute darkness around us, though I wouldn't be able to keep that trembling in check for long. The deeper we got, the more I wanted to get out of there.

However I got more sidetracked than I probably wanted to when Ryou got separated from the others. For the love of God, they didn't even take any turns! I didn't know how he did it, but leave it to Ryou to do the one most stupid thing that you never expect anyone else to do.

"Guys?" he asked, scared. We kept walking forward, hoping that we would come across the others. Suddenly, I heard Ryou curse and something big fell on him, causing me to shriek and him to scream bloody murder. He turned on his heels and ran for dear life, flailing his hands around.

"Bakura! This way!" we heard Tristan's voice and Ryou went towards it, a skeleton firmly clung on his back.

"Aah! HELP ME!" he screamed. The others freaked out and tried to get away from him, shouting at him to not come any closer.

_"Aah! Get this thing off of me!"_

Eventually Tristan managed to destroy that skeleton, while the others played dead. If I hadn't been so scared about Ryou I would most likely have been rolling on the floor with laughter for the second time today. I supported myself on the wall, catching a little break from all the running. I hated running. When this was over I would never run again.

"From now on, don't go picking any hitchhikers." commanded Tristan sternly, crushing the skull under his shoe.

"Is it safe for me to open my eyes now?" groaned Tea from her spot on the ground. I shook my head. These guys were trying to have a rescue mission to help Joey? They needed rescuing themselves!

"You gave us quite a scare with that skeleton Bakura!" said Yugi, sounding disturbingly okay with it.

"Sorry…"

"Never mind that. Because now we have another problem. Which way do we go now?" Tristan questioned seriously, causing us all to turn our heads and face a crossroads. Just great! Truth be told, I was half expecting to see a giant boulder coming at us, so compared to that, the crossroads weren't all that bad…

"Anybody have any ideas?"

"Gee, both ways look  _so_  inviting!" Tea exclaimed sarcastically.

"Yeah, but Joey got himself invited in one of those tunnels, so we need to find which one!"

"Tristan's right. We need to find Joey now."

"Yeah!" they shouted all together. However when they stood up, my beloved twin brother stepped on another trap.

"Hey! My foot!"

We heard a cracking sound and we turned to the direction it was coming from.

"What's that sound?"

"I stepped on a switch or something…"

"Quiet now!" Yugi ordered.

"Listen, now the sounds getting louder…"

God, why must it be so dark in here… We were like sitting ducks, waiting for whatever was in there to come and get us. And we were doing it in the  _dark_. Why couldn't they have a nice, big flashlight with them? They could set up a camp alright, but a flashlight? God forbid the work of the devil.

"I think it's coming this way." Tea mumbled, not even bothering to hide her fear.

"Yeah, but just what's coming this way?" Yugi wondered aloud.

Ryou was shaking in fear, with his hands over his mouth. At this picture, the fierce protectiveness I always felt towards him came rushing back. I knew that anything that belonged to the physical realm was well out of my league, but I couldn't just stand back and let whatever that thing after us was to get to Ryou. So I stood before him and took a fighting stance, my hands shining from the energy gathered there.

The thing that was making the unfamiliar noise came closer. We could now see it.

My eyes widened. Was that…

" _You have got to be bloody kidding me!"_

The gang screamed at the same time and took off towards a random direction like the devil himself was right behind us. Which he kind of was, in the form of a  _bloody giant boulder!_

Me and my bloody mouth.

"Why is that boulder chasing us?" asked Tea. The most stupid question in the universe, I should add. It was the worst possible scenario. That's why that boulder was chasing us!

"Cause we are downhill!" answered Tristan. Yeah, that one too. But mostly because of what I said.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Ryou was chanting, really getting on my nerves.

"Oh sod off R-", I turned to yell at him and then trip over my feet at the sight that greeted me.

In that instant Ryou was being crushed underneath the boulder that had been chasing us. He screamed out toward me with a pained expression of horror etched into his features. The very same face that I had seen countless times, all of them flashing in front of me in an instant, all of them with the same helplessness in his eyes. The overwhelming feeling of shame paralyzed me.

But they had all been nothing but nightmares, fake situations, things I had never  _actually_ done. But this time...this time...

How could this have happened? How did I let it happen?

I didn't move from where I was lying on the ground, instead letting the boulder pass through me with my eyes shut as tightly as possible, trying to stop myself from going into hysterics. My breath was erratic and my tears flowed freely, as my hands gripped at the dirt...dirt I couldn't really touch or feel.

A chuckle escaped me as understanding finally downed on me. How could I have protected my brother like this? I had taken his place into the Shadow Realm, but that had ultimately done nothing at all to protect him. Bakura had come back, he had  _used_ him in yet another Shadow Game and I didn't even know, let alone  _protect_  him. I had left him alone.

Ryou was dead and I couldn't stop it. What would happen to me now that he was gone? What if it was too late for me to move on from this world? Would I fade away or stay like this for eternity? Would madness overcome me, would I end up just another monster? What  _about me_?

I had promised to myself to see my brother happy when I died. When Bakura began to hurt him I promised to myself that I would protect him. And now, here I was, lying pitifully on the ground, afraid to open my eyes, knowing that I would only see his blood pooling around his crushed body. I had to look at him. Look at him and face my failure straight on, it was the least I owed him for letting him down.

But I...just...I just...

Soft steps echoed and I felt someone pass through me.

"Are you okay Bakura?" Tea's soft voice broke me from my oncoming hysteria.

My eyes snapped open at the question, my breath caught in my throat. I slowly raised my head and stared at Tea's back which covered some of Ryou's body. The rest of it was shaking in fear. I was able to listen his soft whimpers. My eyes went wide as Ryou shakily stood up and sighed in relief. He was alright.

I continued on staring, unsure if what I saw was actually true. Ryou was alive and well.

_Why?_

I had  _seen_  that rock run him over. I had  _heard_  him scream in fear. So  _why...? Why was he alive?_

My hands tightened into fists as rage took over me. I got up from the ground and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I couldn't. That bloody bastard was alive. Alive and well and not so much as a scratch on him. I had been so terrified; I had felt so much agony for those moments. He had no bloody  _right_  to be alright. I wanted to hurt him so badly. I wanted to show to that sad bastard that he couldn't do this to me. How  _dared_  he do this. How  _dared_  he think that he could just play with me like that!

Everything suddenly became clear, my thoughts, my vision, everything was absolutely painfully blatant and I could finally see that darkness inside me, which I wasn't aware of till that very moment. All that pain, all that agony was now clear as day to me and I clutched my head and screamed. The fear and sorrow that existed inside me long before I ever set foot into the Shadow Realm was now filling every fiber of my being. Ryou was the one to stay alive. He was the one to have his chance at fulfilling his dreams. Ryou had been the reason for everything I had gone through; he had been why I had to go through so much pain. He deserved to die for what he had done to me and I would be glad to kill him with my own hands.

I concentrated in the energy inside me and gathered it to the palm of my hand. It was the strongest energy ball I had ever constructed, I felt certain of the results. It would kill Ryou before he could even blink. I was ready to kill him, had nothing to hold me back. He deserved to die; it was his punishment for everything he had done to me.

For a second I felt unsure of what I was about to do, I even felt a pang of fear and for a brief second I searched for a reason to leave him be but I found nothing but pain and anger. My pain, I could now see, was constant and sharp and all I wanted was for my pain to be inflicted on others. I launched the concentrated energy and for a moment, I wondered whether his chest would explode or his heart would simply stop. That is, until I saw my attack shine brightly for a moment and then disappeared all together. Instead, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle was standing there, arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyes gave his rage away but when he spoke his voice was sharp and emotionless.

"What are you doing Amane?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"None of your business, spirit. Get out of my way."

I tightened my fists, feeling my nails dig into my palms. Just looking at him made me mad beyond reason, my very being itching to pummel him right out of that "holier-than-thou" attitude of his. I had every right to do what I did. He  _deserved_ it. Why did I have to be the one to pay for his decisions? Why did he get to live while I was nothing but pathetic left-overs? No one had the right to judge me. After all, if I didn't take care of myself, nobody would do it for me.

"Why did you attack Bakura?"

"None of your business." I repeated. "Who died and made you king anyway? I can do whatever the bloody hell I feel like doing!"

"You tried to kill your own brother!" he shot back, narrowing his eyes. His voice remained flat and he made me feel like an insect, pathetic and worthless. I couldn't take it, I couldn't take that bloody voice anymore.

"I don't care! I don't want him to be alive!" I shouted. As if turning a switch off, all of my anger left me, the only thing remaining an unbearable sorrow. Tears sprang to the corners of my eyes for what felt like the billionth time that day. "I don't care. It's not fair. Not fair at all." I whispered, not even trying to hold my tears back. "I just want it all to end. I don't care anymore."

The spirit did not even flinch at my abrupt mood swing. "But you do, don't you? That's why you are still here." Now he sounded calm, almost detached. "You do care and it hurts, but you care anyway. Because he is your family and you love him."

" _Shut up!_ _Shut your bloody face!"_

"And what's worse is that you know you would go over a thousand more Shadow Realms to protect him. Isn't that true Amane?"

"No it isn't. Never again." I shook my head violently. He had no idea what he was talking about. He had no idea what I had done and what I had  _enjoyed_ doing. Just standing took a tremendous effort on my part, because all I wanted to do was collapse and scream until there was nothing left of me. "I want him dead. I want to kill him. It's all his fault."

"Kill him?" he repeated and then sighed. "Is that really what you want?"

"Yes. With all of my heart."

"Then I will not stop you. Do as you please."

I watched in astonishment as he disappeared. Had he just... gone away? Everything aside, I was about to kill my brother. You don't just... I don't know, just give an emotional speech and then get bored and let someone kill... their own...  _brother..._

* * *

I couldn't quite comprehend what had happened. I could see the events clear as day in my head and I understood the reasoning behind my actions. Admitting it hurt like bloody hell, but that didn't change the fact that I didn't understand why I had done what I did.

I had tried to kill Ryou just because I got scared. I mean, sure, that bloody wanker could've probably avoided setting off a boulder that chased us halfway into a dark cave. I still had no idea how on Earth he managed to survive that one. Could it be the Millennium Ring? I guess it could be, however I hadn't sensed one morsel of energy coming off of it. Not even Bakura had managed to keep himself cmpletely concealed from me, but then again the spirit of the Puzzle was not someone I could sense if he was not in spirit form in front of me or in possession of Yugi's body. The Puzzle's power in itself yes, but not the spirit's existence. So how could Ryou survive a boulder running him over?

I shuddered yet again at the images that immediately accompanied that thought and gritted my teeth. I would stay in control, no matter what. What I had done today was moronic and completely inexcusable. I had to admit that I was rather... upset with myself.

Still, one question remained. If I had reached a point where I could not control myself around Ryou and had come to be dangerous for him, what should  _I_  do? Leave him? Try to stay away until I was fully recovered?

But that was impossible. Ryou was the one from whom I drew my power from, who kept me together. The mere thought of abandoning him was unbearable. I could never make myself stay away, not ever. I would just have to make sure that nothing would happen to him again, not because of me. I didn't care  _how-_ "because I said so" would have to cut it.

* * *

Catching up with Ryou and his friends was easy. The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle did not make any dramatic appearences either, for which I was thankful. He seemed to be in a nark over the whole murder thing, so I decided to make an attempt at keeping a low profile. You know, not go on any murderous rampages or anything. Life was tough like that.

The dark in the cave was really getting to me as well. It was not so dark that I could not see in front of me, but it was uncomfortable all the same. Chills were running down my spine and I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched.

_Watched._

The idea came down on me like a lightning bolt to the head. Which, if my suspicions were true, it would be an amazing thing to happen to me since the alternative was much less appealing.

This could be an illusion. Everything that had happened so far, from me being released from the Shadow Realm to this very moment, could've been nothing but another trick. Was it? How on Earth would I know? It could be. It would explain why Ryou was still alive or why the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle hadn't destroyed me after I snapped. It would not be the first time that something like that had happened. My hands were shaking uncontrolably and I could feel cold sweat running down my spine. My breathing became rugged and my eyes widened. This could be what was really happening here. I could be dreaming while those disgusting leeches were feeding off of me like I was a five-course meal.

_One._

I knew my mind wasn't safe, in fact it was not only their target but their source of power as well.

_Six._

I should have realised it immediately. The easy escape, the absurdly familiar "Shadow Game", the fact that everything seemed to run so smoothly up to this point...

_Eleven._

Even the faces I had seen were faces I had seen before. Kaiba was the guy I had seen playing Duel Monsters with Yugi in that tournament and of course Yugi and co. were Ryou's friends. They were all familar faces that could've easily been plucked out of my memories and used against me. It as so stupid of me to think otherwise.

_Sixteen._

Time had no meanig in the Shadow Realm, as well as space, direction, logic itself. It was a Chaos-born realm and so only the rules of Chaos could be applied inside. Therefore, what seemed like a day to me might be only a second there.

_Twenty-one._

The stench of rotten flowers filled my nostrils. For a second, I could swear to God that my feet were wet.

_Twenty-six._

_Thirty-one._

_Thirty-six._

How could I be certain of where I was?

_Fortyonefortysixfiftyonefiftysixsixtyonesixtysixseventyoneseventysixeightyoneeightysixninetyoneninetysixonehundr-_

"Look! It's the exit!"

Joey's yell broke me out of my trance, only to make me realize that I had lost sight of the gang. I broke into a sprint, ignoring my breath that had become ragged somewhere along the way and the cold sweat that I was covered into. As the first rays of light came into view, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I passed right through the people in front of me and once outside, I tried t clear my head from everything. I tacked my previous... speculations into the farthest corners of my mind, reasoning with myself that whatever was to happen would eventually happen regardless of whether I tried to test if dead get heart attacks or not. I needed to be an optimist and a bloody optimist I would be. Nothing could get me down, oh no, not me, Amane Baku-

"Faster! Can't you move faster you morons?"

_Don't cry. Crying isn't optimistic at all. Plus it gives you wrinkles._

As a guy two or three times Joey's size punched a smaller guy pale enough to be a zombie, I went back to where I had come from- literally.

* * *

"I need vacation…" I murmured in desperation and with slow steps that I made sure conveyed my misery with the situation to anyone that might be watching, I returned to the cave.

Ryou and his friends were taking a shot at moving the giant boulder, which must be a close relative to the one that tried to turn us into pudding a while ago, away from the exit but to no avail. And that wasn't particularly surprising considering that the only real muscle in the team were Tristan and Joey. I mean, with all due respect, Yugi simply couldn't be of any use.

Ryou and Tea were the first to quit. They must have accepted that boulders were against them today, end of story. Yugi, Tristan and Joey kept trying however they gave up soon after the other two.

"Looks like we are trapped." announced Joey.

"Oh come on, there's gotta be another way out of this place!" said Tristan, although he didn't sound all that confident.

"But these tunnels run  _everywhere_! We could be lost in here forever!" Tea yelled in frustration.

At that moment, the Millennium Ring's energy spiked. I narrowed my eyes as I saw one of the Millennium Ring's prongs pointing at the opening that had led us here. My brother though didn't seem too concerned about devil's best pal going all pointy on him and simply followed the direction it was urging him to move towards.

"Bakura?" asked Tea.

"Hey Bakura, what gives?" shouted Joey behind him as Ryou came to a halt in front of another path.

"It seems my Millennium Ring is taking me in this direction." he said simply.

"Why?" asked Tea again. Seriously, everybody found it so normal that an ancient artifact was acting on its own accord that they didn't even freak out? Just a little bit? Then I caught a glimpse of the Millennium Puzzle hanging around Yugi's neck. Yeah, forget that I said anything.

"Well, Yugi and I think that my Millennium Ring can detect other Millennium Items." Ryou explained while he followed the Ring's directions. After a short while however, it became blatant that it was not only my personal reserves of patience that were running out.

"So… we're getting anywhere Bakura?" asked Joey.

"It's like we've been walking forever!" complained Tristan.

"This doesn't look like the way out; it looks like a big maze!" exclaimed Joey in surprise, looking around him in sudden alarm.

"That's right. And look at the walls down here! All the rocks are neatly arranged. It seems… man-made!" Tea pointed out.

I looked around, noticing the walls. She was right. Oh bugger it! I'd have a flutter it was another trap. Pegasus was someone I would gladly put his head under the wheels of a big lorry and then go back and forth, back and forth…

No! Bad Amane! These are bad, bad, Bakura-worthy thoughts. I would not think them. I was a better person and I would not think of the satisfying sounds his head would make while I drove back and forth over it…

I was dragged out of my personal pool of stupidity when Ryou suddenly abandoned his slow pace and broke into a run.

"Follow me! The Ring is pulling me this way!" he yelled behind him, urging the others to follow.

"Well tell it to pull slower!" shouted Joey behind him and to my surprise I agreed with him. I had never been a fan of physical exercize while I was alive and that hadn't changed during my time as a spirit. And why would it? Running was of no use to me. I was supposed to be able to float around screaming "boo" at regular intervalls and dragging my heavy chains behind me, showing to the world that being a cheap old bugger is not the way to live the life. But was I? Oh no, of course not. Instead I had to run around like everybody else, while that bloody berk got to be carried in his stupid ancient cursed artifact. I was dead and a girl! I deserved that ride!

I would have probably went on to a more advanced level of meaningless inner ranting that had no relation to our current situation whatsoever, if I hadn't noticed that all those backs in front of me were not moving anymore. And of course, as every other self-respecting ghost, I tripped over my own feet, passing right through Joey and getting very intimate with the floor.

"I will take my vacation in Hawaii." I mumbled while standing up. "Where the sun shines and the sea is blue and shirtless boys serve drinks in a coconut that has a little umbrella on it. I love little umbrellas."

I took a look at where Ryou had led us to. And I saw -oh, the surprise- a Duel Arena. The others gasped.

"What is this place?" asked Tea freaked out.

"You have entered-"

"Sacred grounds!"

"Where only duelists-"

"Can be found!"

We looked around to see who were those talking but came up with nothing.

"Well, we're duelists…" said Joey hesitantly.

"In order to pass-"

"Across this chamber-"

And then they appeared.

* * *

They appeared. Two freaks doing ninja moves. I felt so… cheated. We had walked through a big, dark, cold and creepy cave for hours on end just to end up with…this. The pain was almost physical.

"You must agree-"

"To face the danger."

"So let the contest-"

"Now begin!"

They stopped the fake fighting moves that must have taken at least a good two minutes to complete and turned to us with their arms crossed in front of their chests. The one was wearing an orange cloak over a ninja suit and the other a green cloak over a ninja suit. They were bald and they had funny noses. Aparently, this was a classic case of identical twins gone wrong.

"You are trapped-"

"And the doors are al locked."

And then they struck a pose. Yeah, the pain was most definitely physical now.

"You face the brothers… Paradox!" they said in unison.

"Employed by Pegasus as eliminators-"

"To take all your star chip indicators!"

"You gotta duel these goons Yugi?" asked Joey

"And if, by some crazy fate's whim you manage to win-"

"Why then, a puzzling new test shall immediately begin!"

"For over my shoulder you see a door! And over my brother's-" I turned my gaze behind them and indeed, there was a door with a symbol engraved on it, identical to the tattoo he had on his forehead.

"One door more!" said the one in green, his door's symbol the same as the one in his forehead as well.

"They test the choice-"

"That you must make!"

"Which of these doors will you take?" they finished in unison.

"The one leads to an endless maze!"

"Where you will wander all your days!"

"The other door is the path you need."

"Choose correctly and you'll be freed!"

"Which door leads out?"

"And which leads to your doom?"

"That's for you to guess-"

"And for the brothers Paradox to know!" the one in green finished.

"So… even if Yugi wins this match we could still end up lost into these caves forever?" asked Tea frustrated. When did Yugi say he would duel? Must have missed it while trying to block the constant rhyming out of my poor, poor eardrums.

"Against us, one mere duelist would be grieved!"

"So you must duel as a team!"

I felt the Puzzle awakening and the spirit took over Yugi's body.

He took a step forward. "Tag team it is. And I would be honored if Joey fought by my side."

"You got it bro."

They took their places on the arena.

"Alright brothers Paradox! Me and Yugi are gonna clean your cloaks!"

"Prepare to be puzzled!"

"Prepare to be fooled!"

"Prepare to be baffled, for in this field we rule!" they finished together. How did they do this? They were practicing rhymes in their free time? Also, I should mention here that we were trapped in an endless maze because the two lamest villains ever wanted to  _play Duel Monsters_. The situation was pathetic no matter how you looked at it.

"I am gonna baffle them both if they don't stop rhyming!" said Joey.

"You and I both Joey." I nodded my head.

"Now, enough of your wimps!"

"Time to wager your star chips!"

"I'll throw down two." Joey growled and placed his star chips on the board.

"Plus four more, for a total of six." added the spirit.

For some odd reason this seemed eerily familiar. Thinking about it, it reminded me of when my Dad taught Ryou poker, some time before things started to go seriously downhill. I liked that game and I watched them play every night. I suppose it was something they did in an unconscious attempt to salvage their still existing relationship. They would wager beans since Ryou didn't have any money and my Dad would put a CD in the stereo. My Dad, someone who hated to lose, never went easy on Ryou and I knew that, as soon as he started to win it meant that he was getting good at it. I liked to think that we were playing together, so I would sit next to him and shout at him to play this or that card. We laughed together or shared news or whatever we wanted to say was said there. However after they had one of their first big arguments, they never played again. I shook the memory away and focused on the duel.

I also pretended that I never felt my eyes tear up.

* * *

The duel was a long one- both teams were good at what they were doing, however the Paradox brothers –whose names turned out to be Para and Dox, for the love of God- seemed to have the upper hand for he most part. At one point, the brothers mentioned the test with the doors once again, something that made Joey recall a similar story where a bloke wanted to go to a village of truth tellers. However, next to it was a village of liars. The kid was in a crossroad and he couldn't know where to go, so he decided to ask a villager that was passing by for directions. Not knowing which one he was, a liar or a truth teller, it came down to him choosing the right question, one that would lead him to Truthville no matter the villager's origins. So he asked the villager to take him to his own village. If he was a liar he would take him to the village of the truth tellers because he would be taking him to the wrong place and if he was from Truthville, he would take him to the right village on account of being truthful. That made apparent for Joey that we needed to first figure out which one of the brothers was telling the truth. Para smirked and offered Joey and Yugi had one question.

Joey immediately asked them to show to us the door each of them guarded. They both showed Dox's door which led to some cheers from Joey. However, all I had to do was to check the spirit's expression to know that there was something fishy here.

Joey noticed it too and when he questioned him about it, the spirit answered that there were some minor changes in our current situation that in fact proved Joey's conclusion wrong. See, if there were two villagers instead of one, one truthful and one liar, the liar could never admit to it, because it would mean he was telling the truth. That statement could be made only if both of them were liars.

"Long vacation in Hawaii after this." I murmured, pinching the bridge of my nose. "In fact, I will move to Hawaii and stay there."

* * *

The duel ended with Joey and the spirit as the winners. The only thing left was to pick the right door and we were out of here once and for all. I sighed and then blinked. Had I just... Never mind.

"Now… which of you brothers guard the door that leads out of here?" asked the spirit smirking. So that was his ingenious strategy?

"If you value your lives you'll choose my way…" Para nodded towards his door.

"Select my side, or else you'll pay!" Dox urged us.

"Not this again! Can't you two just act normal and give us a straight answer for once?" asked Tea exasperated.

"I'm giving you a straight answer!" they answered in unison.

"You sad bastards! Let me go, let me at them!" I shrieked towards no one in particular, flailing my arms angrily. Nobody was holding me back of course but it's good taking it off your chest. Especially after all I had to take off my chest after spending so much time having to listen to their constant rhyming.

"The answer is, we can't trust either of these two." explained the spirit calmly.

"Ok, any bright ideas?" asked Tristan.

"Uhh… sure. Don't I always?" Joey perked up, causing almost everyone to shake our heads in desperation.

"Nyeh, zero respect..." he mumbled.

"We'll decide with these." the spirit presented us with two coins where he had drawn the symbols on the doors. I sweatdropped but stayed focused.

The brothers laughed. "Okay, heads or tails?" asked Dox.

"Neither. I marked each coin to represent a different door. The coin that I keep clenched in my fist will be the door that I have chosen."

* * *

"So… ready?" asked the spirit confidently. After a few seconds he opened his right fist and revealed the coin that represented Dox's door.

"The coin is marked for Dox's door." said Para, trying to smirk. I refused to acknowledge that grimace as a descent smirk.

"But was your choice good or was it not?" finished Dox.

"What say you Dox? Shall we tell which door is right?" asked Para.

"In due time Para. I'm enjoying their blight."

At that I started taking deep calming breaths. I would not allow their rhyming to affect me. I refused.

"Was it Para?" asked Joey.

"Or was it Dox?" asked Tea after him.

"Yeah, fess up!" said Tristan. I kept my attention to the spirit. His smirk had widened now, which was probably good. Right?

"I say…"

"You choose wrong! It was his doorway…"

"All along!" finished Para and they burst into laughter

"So Dox's door was the right one?" asked Tea.

"Not quite." said the spirit smirking. That seemed to confuse the brothers.

"Oh yes it was!" yelled Para.

"Except if we had picked it, Para's door would be the right one." the spirit stated calmly."You can choose which door leads to each path, can't you? Ensuring that we choose wrong."

"That's not fair! You guys are cheatin'!" shouted Joey angrily.

They smirked cockily. "Too bad, too late, you chose a way. It means…"

"In this maze you will stay!"

I stood with my mouth on the ground and then anger surged through me. Oh, I could make them tell us, alright. I began gathering energy around my clenched fists, intend on shoving them both right up their... noses.

"Well, actually…" said the spirit, making me turn to him. "You never saw our choice." The coin in his hand… was Dox's! Okay, I was lost here. "I figured the two of you would pull a stunt like this. So, I pulled a stunt of my own with these two coins." he explained. "Instead of marking them both with just one door insignia, I marked the second coin with two." he said and tossed it up. "One insignia on each side. That way we couldn't lose."

Para and Dox gasped.

"Ha! Beat ya at your own game!" cheered Joey.

"Both of them! Now if you excuse us, we have a score to settle with your boss." said the spirit proudly. Well, he had every right in the world to be proud.

"Alright then! On to Pegasus's castle!"

* * *

We were practically running to get out of there and this time I didn't care about ancient artifact rides one bit. I was out first since I didn't have to get a giant door out of my way and when I felt the breeze I allowed a chuckle to escape me. And then another, until it turned into a full-blown fit of laughter.

I laughed and laughed, running around like a psychotic kid that was in a candy store holding everyone at gun point, thus allowed to eat anything it wanted to.

That was a pretty messed up metaphor, even for me.

I waited for the others to come out and when they did, I noticed that the Ring was active again.

"My Millennium Ring is pointing…"

"There, to Pegasus's castle!" Tea yelled, unexplainably cheerful about it. I disregarded it as lack of oxygen.

I noticed Tea staring skeptically at Yugi and stifled a laugh. She was the one who would most likely figure out that something was going on with the whole personality-switching thing first. The girl was smart and she also had a gut instinct strong enough to outmatch anyone's.

Joey, Tristan and Ryou had already run to the castle and they were climbing a ridiculously big amount of stairs. I decided that I would not run, instead I would take my sweet time with those.

"Amane, we need to talk."

I turned around to see the spirit with a serious expression on his face. I sighed. Sod's Law huh? Oh well.

I took off as quickly as possible. "Sorry, have to catch up to Ryou, bye!" I shouted behind me. When I gained a few meters on him I turned my head to see how close he was, only to find him with a ridiculous-on-his-face dumbfounded expression, mouth agape and all. I snickered and began climbing the stairs two at a time.

All seemed well for now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_Never say "Things can't get any worse from here." God takes that as a personal challenge._

-Someone

* * *

Stairs are another reason why my afterlife sucks. A day ago I was in hell getting the crap tortured right outta my arse and today I got a lovely bunch of running and climbing stairs to do.  _I am a ghost!_  I am not supposed to have to do these things.

As I neared the end of the nightmare, I couldn't help but notice the tall, dark and broody figure standing at the top of the stairs. At first I dismissed him as a part of Pegasus's security. After all it was highly possible for a CEO that was mad as a hatter and everyone hated to be paranoid. Just imagine being a guy named  _Maximillion_ _Pegasus_  who had nothing better to do aside from kidnapping random souls and organizing card game tournaments. It's a life that calls for a little action, I'd give him that- but then again, there is sky-diving.

"Hey guys look! You're not gonna believe who's blocking our way into the castle!" I heard Tristan yell in surprise.

"It's Kaiba!"

"Hey, what's  _he_  doin' here?" asked Joey, not happy to see him for obvious reasons.

However, Kaiba ignored all of them.

"I can't let you pass Yugi." he stated, his eyes focused solely on Yugi.

"I won ten star-chips. So stand aside." commanded Yugi sternly.

"You may have won enough star-chips to qualify for the Duelist Kingdom playoffs Yugi, but I cannot allow you to face Pegasus. He's mine. We are going to have one final duel. You will lose and I will win. The winds of change are blowing Yugi Moto."

I smell a card game...

* * *

"Oh, he's so smug up there!" muttered Tea in disgust.

As the last of the gang gathered around Yugi, I took a careful step backwards, ready to run for it if any funny cows decided to jump out of techonologically advanced spinning tops.

"Step aside Kaiba!" Yugi ordered again.

"Not until you agree to duel me."

"I am  _not_  dueling you! I don't have to!"

"So… you are not anymore confident that the so-called  _Heart of the Cards_  can help you win? Or you are afraid you can't beat me without Exodia? That's it, isn't it Yugi? You are just scared you won't be able to beat me a second time. You coward!"

Was that... provocation on Kaiba's part? Would he also make gestures that compared Yugi to a chicken in order to make him accept his challenge? If so, this bird was gonna stay rooted right-bloody-here. I was  _not_ missing out on that!

"Hey, back off! He doesn't have to prove anything!" shouted Tea.

Joey growled. "You wonna duel smart-mouth? Come on, I'll take ya on, let's duel!"

Kaiba chuckled, which enraged Joey further. "Don't laugh!" he shouted and made to charge at him, but Ryou and Tristan held him back.

"Joey, down boy!" Tristan yelled bewildered, not realising that he had just talked to Joey like he was some kind of dog.

"Don't forget, when you battled him before he slaughtered you!" Ryou reminded him, not quite with the tact you would expect from a gentleman.

"Like you could do any better?" Tea snapped at them angrily, effectively embarassing them both and voicing my own views on the matter along the way.

"Heh, I see the little barking Chihuahua already has ten star-chips!" Kaiba taunted. "You earned them yourself or did Yugi throw you a few bones?" Tristan and Ryou now were barely able to hold Joey back. I didn't know what the deal with those two was, but I did know that if Kaiba didn't take it down a notch I would have to feed him some humble pie. And boy, would I enjoy it!

"Don't call me a Chihuahua!" growled Joey.

"Heh, don't let him snap his chain. There is no challenge in humiliating you again Joey. There's only one player who's ever beat me at Duel Monsters and that's Yugi."

I could easily understand someone being angry about losing something with actual value. But being defeated in a  _children's card game_  and actually  _holding a grudge_  against someone about it… that's pretty pathetic. But on the other hand, everything here seemed to be solved through Duel Monsters… It's almost like the bloody card game is the only law around these parts.

"Yugi, you said you won by taping in the Heart of the Cards and for a long time I didn't know what that meant, but now I think I do." Oh, little Kaiba saw the light. I think I'm going to cry. "And it took Pegasus to show me." he whispered.

Kaiba took out a locket in the shape of a Duel Monster's trading card and opened it. I couldn't look at its contents but I noticed his expression change.

"He gave me a reason to put my heart in the cards." he said softly, not taking his eyes from his locket. His expression became determined and he snapped the locket shut, giving Yugi a glare that made me feel like a bug- I actually found myself glad to not be standing in his way. "For the first time Yugi, I can duel with fire and passion in my heart!"

Kaiba was fighting for his baby brother, a brother that he had promised to protect. I could empathize with how he felt and I couldn't help but feel a certain degree of sympathy for him, despite the fact that he was one bloody arse if I had never seen one before- and I had seen one before that was for sure.

* * *

"Yugi! You can't accept his challenge!" Ryou protested.

"You've already earned enough star-chips to get into the castle!" Tea agreed.

"I've changed. I deserve a rematch." said Kaiba quietly. "Let me play you again Yugi. Let me play you for the right reasons."

Yugi seemed to think it for only a second when I sensed the spirit taking over.

Cor blimey, that's a fast decision!

If it was Yugi's decision at all, that is.

I watched Tea's expression turn into one of shock. She stared at the spirit like she was looking for something. I raised my brow. If she was able to say the difference between the spirit and Yugi, then it wouldn't take long for her to find out the truth regarding her friend's glowing weird pedant.

"Kaiba I accept your duel! We'll see what you've really learned!" the spirit yelled, pointing at Kaiba. "You just name the place."

"Our dueling field has been prepared. Follow me." he declared. Kaiba picked up his briefcase and walked into the castle.

* * *

Once inside, we took a few turns and then we climbed the stairs that led us in the upper floors. Jeez, what's the deal with Pegasus and elevators is beyond me. When I was almost to my breaking point, Kaiba came to a halt in front of a big metal door. As he pushed it and we went through, a slight gust of wind made Tea's hair move, right into my face. Granted, they passed right through it- but just imagine what a bloody bother it is to have someone's hair into your nose, even if you cannot feel it.

Kaiba had taken us on the roof. It was a good spot, what with the entire island at my feet and all, but was all that stair climbing really necessary? Does  _everything_  that has to do with Duel Monsters have to be so dramatic?

The spirit and Kaiba each took their places facing each other.

"Alright Kaiba, it's time to duel!"

"Yugi, here's the deal. We'll each wager five star-chips on this duel and the winner will be the only one who earns the right to enter to the main castle."

I sincerely hoped the main castle had an elevator or something. If I wasn't dead I would have lost a lot of weight on my way to get up here.

"Done. Five chips." said the spirit and removed the agreed amount off of his glove.

"We will use my new duel disk system. Insert your shuffled deck in the card recognition slot. Life points automatically set to two thousand." Kaiba instructed the spirit.

"Take him! You did it once Yugi and we know you can do it again!" shouted Joey trying to encourage the spirit.

I got sidetracked however by someone walking to the opposite part of the roof. He was just standing there, staring at the others with his mouth agape in shock. He wore a pair of sunglasses and had a strong built. He seemed to be vaguely familiar and when I took a closer look at him it dawned on me. It was that dimwit who had trapped us into that cave!

I narrowed my eyes. I had a score to settle.

I quickly followed him. I didn't want to lose this duel so I would have to make it quick.

* * *

He was running to one of the towers and when we reached there I saw why. That tower offered an excellent view of the duel; however, it also had a bad echo. He would barely be able to catch much of what was going on, even with all the yelling that the spirit did while dueling.

I drew energy from the bond I shared with Ryou and I felt the familiar warmth surround me. I then looked back at the bloke and smirked.

I raised my hand and shot an energy ball straight to his chest. I wanted to test if I could really harm someone alive with my powers, despite the spirit's assurances that I wasn't capable of doing so. I had to admit to myself that it was disappointing to find out he was correct. For a split second I wondered if he ever got tired of always being right.

The energy passed right through the blonde but instead of bringing him to his knees from pain as I had planned, he just turned and looked around. He had indeed felt something, but not what I wanted. And with those bloody sunglasses on, I couldn't make out his expression.

Then an idea came to mind and I moved behind him. Putting much more energy, I focused almost all of it to my right hand and then pushed it in his chest from his back.

He gasped and I pushed deeper. He placed his hand on his chest in obvious  _discomfort_ making me smirk at the sight.

I could slightly feel his organs and ribs. Not exactly feeling by touch, but more like being able to make out their existence without my hand going quite through them. It was disgusting but the pleasure of taking my revenge on him for trapping us in that cave made it worth it. I'd have a flutter he believed we wouldn't be able to get out of there, so he deserved what was coming to him. He had tried to harm us, so I saw no reason to simply allow him to walk away with it like he hadn't just outright attempted to murder a bunch of schoolkids by starving them to death. He couldn't have known there was another exit. He had seriously meant to murder them.

As I finally comprehended the severity of his actions, the severity of the bloody  _consequences_  of what he had done, I became absolutely livid. He  _deserved_  to die. I gritted my teeth in rage and forcefully shoved my hand deeper, not giving a flying fuck about how much less easy it had become to pass my hand through his organs- or the motherfucker's now-agonised screams. Eventually I found what I was searching for.

I had found his heart. I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face.

He was panting and groaning like an injured cow and I was sure it was the best sound I had heard in a while. I enclosed the heart in my fist and increased the energy in my hand, bending it easily to my will in order to make it close in on the vulnerable organ. He tried to scream but couldn't since by now he could hardly breathe properly. He fell on his knees and his sunglasses fell from his face, drool coming out of his mouth. His ragged breath was music to my ears and I squeezed slightly more, this time resulting in blood coming out of his mouth. I licked my lips, taking in every delicious moment of his pain, my revenge for his mistakes. He had shown not a morsel of mercy towards Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan and Ryou. He would have let them die slowly from hunger and thirst. I would make him regret every second of it by squeezing his heart until I felt it burst in my fist.

It was so hilarious, so bloody  _wonderful_ , his life in the palm of my hand- quite literally. I chuckled at the pathetic display, as he groaned and tried to reach his pocket, presumambly to a phone or a communication device of some sort. I couldn't have any of that however. It wouldn't save him, but I wanted to draw this out a bit, squeeze every last drop of pain out of him along with his so-called heart. Tightening my grip I watched in glee as his eyes rolled in the back of his head, as his lips slowly turned to a color very close to blue. His struggles to take a breath caused him to lose a considerable amount of his previous determination to call for help. I laughed quite hard at that. Watching him suffer was very satisfying, so much so that it even surprised me a bit.

"More." I whispered. "Show me  _more_."

As if abiding by my request, he clutched his T-shirt and pulled at it, like it was too tight for him to breath in. As the laughter spilled from my mouth, I couldn't help but feel a moment of pity towards him- such wonderful entertainment he provided and it would end all too soon. Maybe a brief reprieve was in order.

_Marigold and nightsade and cypress. And a touch of teasel flower, just for you._

The sharp intake of breath was not from the man on my feet.

As the smell of rot filled my nostrils, I unconciously took a step back. But it wasn't a smell that  _repulsed_ me, not like it had in the cave. This time it felt like... like home.

"I shouldn't have dropped it." I mumbled, all of a sudden feeling dissapointed with myself. "So much work went into it. I should have been more careful."

The picture of a dark crimson rose bud erased everything else from my mind and I reached my hand out to touch its velvet petals.

"It is not right to treat it like that."

_I am you silly._

Out of the blue, the picture of the rose bud was replaced with the face of the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, his eyes emotionless, staring down at me like I was worthless. Pathetic.

I took another step back, as if that would somehow exorcise that image out of my head. However it only served as a way for me to meet the room's floor, since apparently all I needed to come back to my senses was a good hit on the head. I sat still for a few seconds, waiting for the dizziness to pass. The bliss I felt just a second ago was all but gone- now the only thing left was the rush of the moment being slowly sipped out of my body. I imagined that this was how an addict getting off of a high must feel.

My musings were interrupted by the ragged breathing of the man before me. I was still quite gutted- no scratch that, I was mad out of proportion with him but the murderous rage had left me. I had to admit it, maybe I did go a bit overboard. Maybe the spirit wouldn't approve. Ryou would definitely not approve.

Maybe I should stop attacking people at random before it becomes a habit.

There was also something else that had me worried.

I had enjoyed this.

Every second of it.

I shouldn't have.

But then...he deserved it, didn't he?

I shook my head to clear it from such thoughts and quickly stood up and sat on my heels behind him. He had somehow managed to reach a kneeling position, making it easier for me to whisper in his ear what I had to say. My energy was flaring around me and I hoped he would be able to listen to everything. Doubtful but possible. After all I had almost killed him just a second ago.

"Don't you ever come near us again. Not Yugi, not Ryou not anyone. Try anything and I will kill you."

For good measure I reached for his insides once more and poked his heart a bit, not nearly enough for his life to be endangered though. Or at least so it seemed. Either that or that guy really wanted to stay alive. He fell on the floor hugging himself and panting. He gave no signs that he had heard me.

I was easy though. I had warned him, so if he tried anything, I would not be the one to blame for any... consequences.

* * *

I went back to where Yugi and Kaiba were dueling, feeling better than when this bloody day started. Actually I could say that I felt as if nothing had happened in that cave. I felt nice. Apparently I had missed some of the duel, however it didn't look like it was anything too significant. Probably. Maybe. I had no idea. A green genie-like thing was attacking the spirit, so that was most likely not very good.

"My cards!"

The attack hit one card from the four Yugi had in front of him, smashing it to pieces.

"De-spell has destroyed your Swords of Revealing Light." Kaiba explained smugly and then smirked. "Hm, that's a tough loss Yugi. Your swords could have paralyzed my monsters for three turns, but I guess that now you will lose three turns sooner."

"Don't count on it Kaiba!" the spirit shot back, catching his Duel Disk as it spinned right towards his head.

"That genie is big trouble, but as long as it has the lamp to hide it Yugi can't touch it!" commented Ryou.

"Is there any way to destroy the lamp?" asked Tea, but nobody answered. The spirit drew a card from his deck and stared at it for a moment. Then he placed it on the Duel Disk and threw.

"But first I call upon the Dark Magician!"

A monster that looked familiar appeared on the field. I squeezed my brain and then remembered where I had seen it before. It was the monster Yugi was dressed like back when the spirit got me out of the Shadow Realm. I stared at it and for a second I was sure it had glared right back. I shook my head. What a dim thought.

**Dark Magician Attack: 2500**

**Dark Magician Defense: 2100**

"I'm surprised you put your Magician at risk Yugi. Especially when you have no idea what I have in store for you."

The spirit smirked. "Then perhaps  _before_  I attack I should see what you are planning for myself!"

Kaiba looked taken aback by this statement. "What do you mean?"

"Behold my Magic Eye of Truth!" the spirit yelled and the card revealed an altered version of the Eye of Horus. Kaiba gritted his teeth in frustration.

"It's called The Eye of Truth because it knows all, sees all!" What a creepy statement. Seriously, it sounded like something straight out of a thriller. And here I thought I was weird. "And it will reveal every card in your hand."

As the cards started to reveal themselves, Kaiba's eyes went huge. It was actually kind of funny!

"What's this? You have a Blue Eyes White Dragon in your hand but you haven't played it?" asked the spirit curiously. I looked at the last card to be revealed and it turned out that it was the same card he had used on Joey in order to put an end to their duel.

"You can always count on Kaiba to have a Blue Eyes White Dragon up his sneaky, slimy sleeve!" muttered Joey under his breath.

"He sure loves his Blue Eyes…" commented Tristan.

"Three Blue Eyes White Dragons! That must be impossible for Yugi to beat!" said Ryou worried.

"Oh yeah?" asked Tea angrily. "Well Yugi's beaten three Blue Eyes before and he'll do it again!"

* * *

The duel went on. The spirit managed to destroy Kaiba's Magic Lamp by using a card called Magic Box. After that it was a piece of cake for the Dark Magician to destroy the genie in it, forcing Kaiba to say hello to 700 Life Points. Then Kaiba summoned a monster called Sagi, the Dark Clown. The creepiest thing I had seen since Bakura appeared on the field and I shrieked jumping on Ryou, ending up on my butt. Well, it was a welcome change from falling on my face, that's for sure. I stood up quickly and focused back on the duel.

**Sagi the Dark Clown Attack: 600**

**Sagi the Dark Clown Defense: 1200**

The spirit seemed skeptical as he drew a new card. He looked pleased with what he had in hand and spanned the Duel Disk.

"And he will defeat Sagi once again. Gaia the Fierce Knight! In attack mode!" he shouted.

**Gaia the Fierce Knight Attack: 2300**

**Gaia the Fierce Knight Defense: 2100**

A knight in a blue and yellow armor holding a spear and riding a purple horse came forth and attacked the clown. Thankfully, it dissappeared without much of a fuzz or so it seemed. But really now, who can sleep peacefully at nights knowing that something like that clown is in his deck?

"Your Dark Clown has been vanquished Kaiba!"

"'Vanquished' and 'sacrificed' are two very different things Yugi. Look again!" answered Kaiba as the pieces of his clown shined and Gaia trembled.

"No! What's happening?" he shouted as Gaia disappeared. "Gaia!"

"Not just Gaia Yugi."

"And my Dark Magician! What have you done Kaiba?"

"It's really quite ingenious actually. Knowing you couldn't resist attacking my clown, I infected him with the Crush Card Virus." he stated calmly. I wasn't really sure what that meant but I could easily understand that the spirit was screwed. Big time.

"A Crush Card?"

"By destroying the infected Sagi, you released the Crush Card Virus. A virus that is so highly contagious to Duel Monsters that even as I speak these words, it is infecting all but the weakest cards in your precious dueling deck!" he explained smugly. I gasped as did the others. That meant that the spirit had lost the duel?

The Duel Disk on the spirits wrist went off, beeping like crazy.

"No, my cards!"

Kaiba laughed. "The only cards unaffected by the virus are only those with an attack power weaker than fifteen hundred!" His smirk became a huge grin that struck me as odd coming from him. He didn't look like a very sunny person. "Looks like I've broken the heart of  _your_  cards Yugi!" he mocked and laughed again.

"Well played. But it will take more than a virus to win this duel Kaiba!" the spirit countered, although he sounded a lot less confident than before.

Kaiba chuckled again. "Yes I expect it will Yugi. Actually I am looking forward to subjecting you to a wide array of debilitating cards!"

The spirit gritted his teeth and Joey and the others tried to encourage him. Well, everyone but Ryou that is. He simply pointed out how bad the situation was and trust me when I say that, that boy has a bad gift of making bad situations sound even worse. I would say that he is more discouraging than anything right now. It was almost like he considered Yugi's defeat just a matter of time; he just didn't say anything out loud so as to not have the hell punched out of him. And right now I might even allow it.

* * *

"You may have infected the body of my cards Kaiba but it is the  _heart_  of the cards that will get me through this contamination!" shouted the spirit and drew. He took a look at his card and frowned.

"Face it Yugi, to continue laying in this duel, you have to serve up your weakest monsters."

The spirit said nothing but his frown deepened.

"Silver Fang in attack mode!" he shouted and spanned the Duel Disk, a white big wolf appearing. "And his attack points are low enough to make him immune to your virus! Your turn."

**Silver Fang Attack: 1200**

**Silver Fang Defense: 800**

"Ironic that a wolf will be the first of your sacrificial lambs but so be it." he said and threw his Duel Disk. Ah, the art of bad puns. "Battle Ox awaken and let loose the dogs of war!" Do they have to be so dramatic every time they summon a monster? Seriously, they talk more than they duel!

**Battle Ox Attack: 1700**

**Battle Ox Defense: 1000**

The Battle Ox destroyed Silver Fang with ease. Kaiba, apparently with all his annoying smugness coming back with a vegeance, began to taunt the spirit, but he kept a straight face and summoned another creature. By combining it with a magic card called "Horn of the Unicorn" he raised the monster's attack points by 700 and managed to destroy the Battle Ox. We cheered in the sidelines for this little victory but the duel was far from over.

Kaiba didn't seem fazed by the loss of his monster. Instead, he drew a card and then summoned a monster called Mystical Elf. She appeared and started chanting and glowing.

"See Yugi", Kaiba was saying, "if there is one thing I learned from my matches with you is that you have an uncanny ability for snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. But I don't intent to give you such an opportunity today. Which is why I have summoned the Mystical Elf today to reinforce my life points by 300!"

The spirit was staring intently at him, as if trying to figure out something. Then Kaiba smirked and placed a card on his Duel Disk.

"Behold the almighty Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he shouted and a huge dragon came to the field.

**Blue Eyes White Dragon Attack: 3000**

**Blue Eyes White Dragon Defense: 2500**

For a second time, even for the flicker of a moment, I felt a presence when the dragon appeared and I narrowed my eyes. The first time, when Kaiba dueled Joey, it could be considered a hallucination, especially since I was just out of the Shadow Realm, but a second time? I may be nuts but not  _that_  nuts. There was something odd about that card.

I didn't know what was going on with all of this magic that looked like it followed Ryou and Yugi wherever they went, the sure thing was that I was brassed off with all this supernatural mumbo jumbo and when that was coming from a bloody ghost it said a lot!

"Now Yugi, your fate belongs to me! Blue Eyes White Dragon take flight and destroy Griforn! White Lightning Attack!"

A blast came out of the dragon's mouth and destroyed the spirit's monster, leaving him with a mere 400 Life Points.

"Already my Blue Eyes has you cowering and this is only the beginning." he said smugly. "Soon you will know what fear is."

"I don't fear your Blue Eyes Kaiba! I've defeated him before! And with my Giant Stone Soldier guarding me I will manage to defeat him again!" he spat as a giant humanoid boulder kneeled protectively in front of him.

**Giant Stone Soldier Attack: 1300**

**Giant Stone Soldier Defense: 2000**

"I'm afraid you're mistaken. Yugi, when you battled my Blue Eyes before they were three separate dragons. Formidable yes, but not invincible. But now I found a way to merge their power, combine them together to create a monster beyond imagining!"

Everyone's eyes widened as the three Blue Eyes White Dragons merged with each other.

"I've created a creature with no fear, with an attack force so great that no monster can stand against it! I create the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba all but screamed, pure ecstasy in his voice. When the three-headed dragon appeared, I took a step back, feeling my eyes widen even more. The raw, incredible energy that it was giving off made my head spin.

Yugi and the spirit had no chance against a creature like that.

* * *

"Yugi Moto, there is now escape! Nothing can save you now!" Kaiba announced in delight.

**Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon Attack: 4500**

**Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon Defense: 3800**

And he was probably right. Nothing in Yugi's whole deck could stand up to that thing and the way Kaiba had crippled it by infecting it with that Crush Card from before… I was no Duel Monsters expert, hell I wasn't even a Duel Monsters amateur, but it was easy to see that there was simply nothing that the spirit could do.

"That monster's attack points are off the charts!" Tea mumbled terrified.

"Yeah, how can any creature in Yugi's deck beat  _that_  thing!"

"That Kaiba! He's been setting up Yugi for that thing this entire time!" Tristan said angrily.

"Yugi, how I savor this moment! This is the moment I've been waiting for ever since you handed me my first and only Duel Monsters defeat. Prepare yourself to see the power of my creature unleashed!"

"Stay strong spirit." I murmured.

"Blue Eyes Ultimate White Dragon, Neutron Blast Attack!" Kaiba screamed.

The creature destroyed Stone Soldier, leaving Yugi defenseless and with no protection whatsoever against that dragon. Kaiba proposed to him to surrender and to my absolute shock he seemed to actually consider it!

"No Yugi!" Joey shouted.

"You can win this!" encouraged Ryou.

"Yeah!" I yelled, even though he couldn't hear me. "Show that Kaiba-freak who's the boss spirit! Don't let your Grandpa down!"

"That's right! We all believe in you!" Tea assured him.

"You gotta remember what you're fighting for Yug! The Heart of the Cards, just like your Grandpa taught you! You never let anyone down before and I know you're not gonna let your Grandpa down now!" shouted Joey with a fierce glint on his eyes. I had a feeling that in case the spirit  _did_  surrender, Joey would punch him for all he was worth.

Determination washed all over the spirit's face and his hands stopped shaking. I smiled at him.

"No Kaiba! I will never surrender to the likes of you!"

"That's it! That's the kind of determination I expect from you! Fight on, gather every last bit of your strength now Yugi! I prefer to take you down when you fight at your hardest."

I felt Ryou tense beside me and I saw that all of them were staring intently at the spirit. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, smiling slightly.

"We all believe in you guys." I whispered.

"Kick butt Yug!" screamed Joey.

"It comes to this. So draw your card and face your fate Yugi." said Kaiba with a grin.

"Let's finish this Kaiba!" the spirit agreed, not even looking at the card he had just drawn.

And for the first time since my death, I prayed for someone other than Ryou or myself.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing…

"It doesn't matter what card you play next Yugi, you have nothing that can withstand the phenomenal attack strength of my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! You might as well give up."

From what I could understand, Kaiba had the spirit on the ropes. I could see it from the way the others looked so desperate. Also, from the fact that Kaiba's dragon had 4500 attack points. I must admit it tipped me off a bit.

Τhe spirit took a look at the card he drew and then burst into laughter.

"That's it; he finally went off the deep end…" I murmured. I kind of liked listening to my voice. It's been a long time since I could use it after all.

"Kaiba! I just drew the card that will defend me against your Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"Impossible!"

"Watch and learn!" said the spirit smugly. He sure looked bloody confident for someone who was ready to give up hope just a few moments ago…

He pulled back his Duel Disk and placed a card on it, then threw it back on the field. "This is it! The beginning of your defeat! Kuriboh, in attack mode!" he shouted and the fluffiest, cutest, cuddliest little fellow I've ever seen in my entire death showed up. I squealed in delight, however the moment I checked his attack points it was impossible not to sweatdrop. Kuriboh had no more than 300 attack points! I hadto say that, although I hadn't attended math class since I was eight years old, I was positive that 4500 was still a bigger number than 300. But of course that might have changed in the last eight years… I sincerely hoped.

"That's ridiculous!" Kaiba sounded genuinely offended. "In the entire game, Kuriboh is the weakest monster!"

"Kaiba's right! What was Yugi thinking playing that little guy?"

Kaiba chuckled. "Yugi, you are free to concede and forfeit the match. But, come on; don't embarrass yourself by playing that runt of a monster. You must know that this is the puniest monster with the lowest attack points in all of Duel Monsters! I've never known a serious duelist to even keep one in their deck!" Now  _I_  was genuinely offended. No one should have the mental strength to insult little Kuriboh and if you did, the  _you should keep it to yourself._ I ean, just look at that face!

Kaiba pointed at the spirit angrily. "Don't insult my intelligence pretending that miserable creature can defend against the almighty Ultimate Blue Eyes!"

The smirk remained on the spirit's face as he answered. "Kaiba, you're mistaken. This card will defend  _everything_! And believe me, before this duel is over your dragon will fall!" he shouted.

"My Ultimate Dragon? Nonsense!" said Kaiba looking taken aback from the spirit's statement. "So go on and finish your turn so I can knock the stuffing out of your Kuriboh and win the game!"

"As you wish!" the spirit said calmly and the card in front of him revealed itself. "My last card will be the magic card Multiply! Multiply works with monsters with attack below 500." Suddenly more of the little fury balls began to appear next to the original one. The spirit's already smug expression became even more so. "And multiplies them endlessly." I was sure I had figured out what he was about to do. He was going to attack with an infinite number of Kuriboh Kaiba's dragon! If they attacked at the same moment, taking down the mutant would be a piece of cake.

"More than you bargained for, eh Kaiba?" taunted the spirit.

Kaiba growled at him. I mean really growled. The bloke was a scary one that was for sure…

"So is this some kind of a joke?" he asked outraged.

The spirit laughed at him. "The joke's on you Kaiba! When you attacked you thought I had only one defender, but now… I have many! And I am getting more and more defenders by the second!"

And it was indeed true. As he talked, more and more Kuriboh were coming out on the field, which made me feel extremely happy for reasons I was unable to explain. I giggled and went in the middle of the arena, trying to touch them. I felt like there was nothing else I wanted more than just hug one and touch its soft-looking fur. Whoever designed this little fellow was a genius! How could anyone resist him? With those round puppy-like eyes that were so sweet and its little hands and le-

"Neutron Blast!"

I saw the energy blast going straight through me and burning some of the Kuribohs to a crisp. To my absolute shock, I actually felt pain when that happened. Went through me, I mean. Weren't those things supposed to be holograms?

"Bloody hell!" I turned around and glared at the dragon. "Did you just try to fry me like an egg?"

The dragon said nothing, which pissed me off even more. "Oh now you are just staring aren't you? Coward! Come blast me in my face you dip stick!" I yelled, pumping my fist in the air. And then began to slowly retreat in case it took me up on my offer. It was not cowardice on my part, not at all. I'd much rather call it tactical retreat.

"…for now I go on the attack!" I heard the spirit say and I decided that it was in my best interests to get out of the way. The  _hologram's_ attack had not gone by me as it should; instead I felt pain from the blast. Either the Duel Disk technology was a bit too realistic, or something was wrong with that dragon. And bugger me if I wanted to know first-hand if that applied to Yugi's monsters as well.

I took my place next to Ryou once again, judging it to be at a safe distance.

"Watch me! For I will show you the combo that will bring your dragon down!" the spirit yelled as one by one, the cards in front of him turned to face Kaiba as he called out their names.

"Mammoth Graveyard! Polymerization! And the Living Arrow card!"

"What's the Living Arrow card?" asked Kaiba slowly. He didn't seem that eager for the answer though.

"Living Arrow allows me to use my other cards in combination, not with my other cards but my  _opponent's_ monsters! I'll show you." he explained triumphantly. "Normally, I make a fusion with my cards but for a new twist… Living Arrow allows me to fuse  _my_  cards with  _your_ cards, opening up whole new possibilities!"

The cards combined with each other and slowly, the Mammoth Graveyard came out and ran towards Kaiba's dragon.

"Now what?" asked Kaiba, shocked.

The monster shined for a moment and then transformed into a golden arrow.

"Now I can use the magical power of the Living Arrow to bound my Mammoth Graveyard to the heart of you beast!" the spirit finished his explanation just as the arrow pierced the Ultimate Dragon and it made a sound of excruciating pain. And still, it looked like I was the only one who noticed that. It was supposed to be a hologram for the love of God!  _Why_  can't something  _not_ absolutely weird happen when I am with Ryou's friends?

The head of the Mammoth Graveyard appeared on the dragon's chest surrounded by a red glow.

"No, my dragon! What have you done?" demanded a terrified Kaiba.

"Since my Mammoth Graveyard is an undead type monster, he can't properly fuse with your living Ultimate Dragon. Instead it causes your monster to rot and decay from inside out!" answered the spirit, not hiding the fact that he savored every second of it. "Each turn it loses attack points until your creature is no more!"

* * *

I watched as the dragon began to decay and his points lowering by 1200, the Mammoth Graveyard's attack points, each turn. What surprised me though, was the raw paranoia I saw into Kaiba's eyes. Was he really that desperate to win in a card game?

_"For the first time Yugi, I can duel with fire and passion in my heart! Let me play you for the right reasons."_

That was what he had said before the duel. That there was a reason for him to fight. A reason…

I went a bit closer to him.

"Can't lose…" he mumbled. "The fate of Mokuba's soul lies on this game."

Mokuba's soul… A figurative light bulb appeared above my head and then grew hands and began pounding it. Mokuba, Kaiba's baby brother. The baby brother he had come here to save. He wasn't a participant in the Duelist Kingdom tournament so he blatantly could not enter it now that almost everyone had gathered. Did he plan on taking his star-chips at once? However he already had five of those. Where did he get them?

"Attack now Ultimate Dragon! Neutron Blast!"

The attack was of course a complete failure due to the countless Kuriboh that were on the arena.

"Again? When will you learn?" taunted the spirit. I glanced at him, to see him smirking arrogantly and there was nothing more that I wanted than to wipe it off his face. "The Kuriboh multiply faster than you can eliminate it with your Neutron Blasts." More Kuriboh appeared on the field.

"No! I will not… _cannot_  be defeated!"

"I will draw another card and let my Mammoth finish my turn."

The Mammoth Graveyard lowered the Ultimate Dragon's attack points even more. Now they were down to 2100. I went at Kaiba's side to see what he would draw next. He didn't bother drawing though and if I had to guess I would say that he was so panicked that he couldn't even think properly. He attacked again, although by now he knew it was futile. All he could do was to wait for the spirit to destroy his monster and end the duel. He was shaking from head to toe. He was terrified. The desperation was so clear on his face that it tugged at my heart. He was fighting for his baby brother, the one Pegasus had taken away. I was just so…  _angry_  at that man. If it was the bloody Puzzle he wanted then he could have the bloody thing and leave us all alone! And what did he want with Kaiba anyway? The bloke didn't have a Millennium Item as far as I could tell. Was there something else to him?

How did he even  _dare_  to bugger around with peoples' lives?

"Once again your attack has failed Kaiba! My defense holds and you have no other strategy to use against me! Your time is running out." The smirk had turned into the most arrogant grin I had ever seen. Kaiba seemed completely resigned to his fate but the spirit kept making a joke out of him, the same way Kaiba had laughed right at Joey's face the night before. "You should never have challenged me Kaiba! You see? My mammoth takes another 1200 points from your dragon!"

The majestic creature that was standing before us a few turns ago was nothing but rotten flesh that looked like it would fall apart any moment. Its points down to a measly 900.

"Even my weakest monsters can destroy it now!"

"Shut up!" I screamed and shot an energy blast at him. I was brassed off with his arrogant comments and the way he was rubbing his victory in Kaiba's face. The bloke was barely able to stand and he had someone in that castle that needed him. If the tables were turned, how would the spirit be like right now? Yugi had his friends. Kaiba had no one. He had come into this island all alone, he had most likely already tried and failed to get that Mokuba-bloke back and failed and no one was standing next to him, giving him the strength he so desperately needed to get through this. Fighting for someone can give you strength but doing it all alone can crush you faster than anyone can imagine. I would know. Been there, done that you could say.

He needed someone to stand beside him and that someone was obviously not gonna be the spirit, Yugi, or anyone else. I could fill the part though. Blatantly no one else would.

And without me he had no one.

* * *

I couldn't leave him alone. I  _wouldn't_ leave him alone. Ryou would be alright. The spirit wouldn't allow any of Yugi's friends to get hurt. Kaiba needed me more, even if he wasn't aware of it. I wouldn't leave him alone.

The spirit drew a new card and then span the Duel Disk.

"This is it Kaiba! Prepare to meet your demise!"

The Kuriboh stood aside to reveal an elf-like warrior posed to attack at the spirit's command. "Celtic Guardian! Attack his Ultimate Dragon!"

The monster jumped and sliced one of the heads off. Kaiba was almost brought down to his knees by that attack. The rest of the gang cheered. Joey asked how was it possible for the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to still be able to stand and Ryou proceeded to explain that, as the result of the fusion of three different monsters, the dragon should be taken down piece by piece, or in our case, head by head.

Kaiba's Life Points were down to his last 400. He was, as Joey so happily declared, toast. With cheese on top, not only inside.

Suddenly, I felt him straighten his shoulders and a determined expression washed over his face.

"Yugi. It can't end this way. If I don't defeat you in this duel, Pegasus will keep Mokuba prisoner. Forever." he said slowly and then took a few steps backwards. "I can't let that happen. And even though I don't have a card that can keep you from attacking, I think I still have a strategy that will stop you in your tracks."

At that I was taken aback and so was the spirit. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously, all smugness wiped from his face. At last, might I add.

"I am going to force your hand. And win this battle Yugi." he explained and continued to walk backwards. And then I understood what he was about to do.

"You are a nutcase, you know that?" I murmured as he stood at the edge of the roof. If he jumped, it would be no doubt fatal.

"Kaiba! Stop this!" shouted the spirit. His eyes were the size of a planet.

"What's Kaiba up to now? He thinks that with these cheap stunts he will force Yugi to lose the duel and lose the chance to save his Grandpa?" asked Joey disbelievingly. Well, blatantly that's exactly what was passing through Kaiba's head. And I knew he was right.

"Go on Yugi. Attack my Blue Eyes again and wipe out my Life Points. But if you do, the resulting shockwaves will cause me to lose my balance."

"Don't tempt me!" the spirit shouted back at him. At that I raised my brow.

Kaiba smirked. "My fate is completely in your hands Yugi. You'll decide this duel one way or another. Of course if you don't surrender I… might get hurt. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to me, would you?"

* * *

I looked at Kaiba while Tea and Joey were yelling for him to cut the crap, but I could understand him. He had someone he had failed to protect. Mokuba… his brother needed him. The spirit was fighting for someone too and I had full faith that he would make it. he had defeated Bakura twice, he had saved me from the Shadow Realm. Surely he would find another way. Kaiba on the other hand... The chap was brought to his knees by the mere idea that he was not gonna be able to enter the castle. But in that case, weren't there any parents to do it for him? Why did he have to be the one to go through this? And why in all seven hells wasn't he entering the castle along with the rest of us?

"He knows. He's counting on Yugi to surrender." I heard Ryou spelling it out for the gang.

"But… he can't do that! If he loses to Kaiba… he won't get into the castle!" Joey said in disbelief.

The spirit growled. "I'm warning you Kaiba! Don't push me too far! I  _must_  win to rescue my Grandfather!"

"And I must win this duel to rescue Mokuba. The difference is I am willing to risk  _anything_  to do it. You know I can stand up here all day Yugi. And I  _know_  you won't make any attack for fear it will knock me off. Even though you know that by not attacking, you give up the only chance you have to save your Grandpa." The spirit gritted his teeth. "Which means I have the advantage over you. For in my case there is  _nothing_  holding me back." finished Kaiba.

I had to admit that I was impressed. He was pushing all the right buttons in order to make Yugi surrender. Of course, he didn't know that he was not going up against only Yugi, but also a very determined spirit who had nothing to lose. And let's face it, he didn't have to be an asshole about the fact that he was willing to commit suicide.

And right now, this spirit would be the one to decide.

* * *

Kaiba drew a card and then showed it to the spirit.

"Ah, a magic card. Reborn the Monster, which I'll use to resurrect the Blue Eyes head that was just destroyed by your Guardian!"

"What?" asked the spirit stunned. "Restore the head of the Blue Eyes?"

"Now one of my Blue Eyes with its normal attack points of 3000 has just been reborn! With all of your Kuribohs in defense mode, I couldn't touch you, but now that you've put an attack monster on the field I can take out the rest of your Life Points! Which I'll do next turn. Two White Dragon heads are still weakened but the third can wipe out your Guardian in a breath."

That was a sneaky move, but also a risky one. Kaiba was fighting for someone, yes, but Yugi and the spirit did too. The difference between them though, was that one way or another, Yugi would enter the castle. I knew it, because, even if Yugi didn't gather back his star chips on time, Pegasus would find a way for him to come in. He wanted the Millennium Puzzle and Yugi was not leaving this island if he didn't have it.

"Surrender Yugi! That is, unless you have the courage to unleash your attack!" Kaiba said nonchalantly.

I could see the struggling in his face. He didn't know what to do, since attacking meant putting Kaiba through fatal danger. But not attacking either…

* * *

I was mad. Mad at Pegasus for forcing Yugi to make this choice between his Grandpa's soul and Kaiba's life, hated him for forcing Kaiba to put his life on the line to save those he loved, despised him for putting all of us through this. I knew now that I could just kill him and be over with it if he was anyone else, but he was the owner of a Millennium Item and I also knew I couldn't stand up to one, especially if there was a spirit residing inside. From what I had seen so far, I was no match for such a thing.

"Kaiba I've never backed away and I am not starting now!" screamed the spirit suddenly, snatching my attention back to the duel. "Celtic Guardian  _attack_!"

I stared in shock as the monster came at us. He had…  _attacked_? Knowing that it could kill Kaiba,  _he had attacked_?

"Yugi you can't!" screamed Tea, running to him. The Celtic Guardian came closer. "You can't take this risk!  _Call him back!_ "

It was too late, the Celtic Guardian was too close, I couldn't do anything to help Kaiba…

"Yugi you can't do this, you can't!" screamed Tea again. " _This isn't like you! You got to stop!_   _Yugi please!_ "

And before I could comprehend what was going on, the spirit was gone and Yugi was back in control.

" _Stop!_ " he screamed and the Celtic Guardian ceased his attack, stopping just a few meters away from the Ultimate Dragon.

He had surrendered the duel, just as Kaiba expected him to do.

And the chance to save his Grandpa had flushed down the toilet.

* * *

I watched in sadness as Yugi's Life Points reached 0. He was on his knees, crying. Not for losing the duel that would allow him to get a step closer to save his Grandpa, but because of his inability to control the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Because the spirit would go all the way and attack Kaiba despite his wishes, ignoring the fact that Yugi preferred to lose the most important duel of his life rather than be the cause of harm for someone else, even if that someone else was the bloke that forced him to make that choice.

That kid was too kind-hearted for his own good. It should be illegal to be that kind-hearted.

He was devastated and it was almost heart-breaking to see him like that.

On the other hand, Kaiba was willing to do anything for Mokuba and I could respect that. I understood him, but I also knew that if I was in the spirit's shoes, if I was fighting for Ryou, I wouldn't hesitate even for a second either. I would finish him off without blinking. So I couldn't really blame any of them for the situation we all were right now.

Joey, Ryou and Tristan quickly went over to Yugi. Kaiba did nothing, only stood there and watched them silently.

Never in my life had I been so torn. I wanted to go by Ryou's side and stay with them, offer my own attempt at consolation, not go with some creepy bloke that didn't know that I existed! But then again, to leave Kaiba alone when I could stand next to him… it seemed wrong. I knew that Yugi would come back to his senses sooner or later; it was just how he was. He couldn't give up, now more than ever.

Kaiba however was alone. And I knew that feeling all too well to just stand back and do nothing.

I had never seen Tea so angry. In fact I didn't know she was able to get angry at all. Not that I knew her for more than a few days or anything, however it always felt that anger was more Joey's thing. But I had to admit she was right. Kaiba had gotten what he wanted from Yugi and there was no reason for him to try and get his mistake off his shoulders by making it look like it was because of Yugi's weakness. He had bloody cheated and won a chance at saving the one he came to save. He had no  _right_  to try and make himself appear strong.

Bloody bastard.

"He spared you!" she shouted at Kaiba's face. "Kaiba he showed you compassion, which is more than you deserve!"

"He lost the game." Kaiba stated calmly.

"Because he would have killed you otherwise, you bloody whanker." I murmured.

"The  _game_?" asked Tea, narrowing her eyes. "Yugi may have lost a lousy Duel Monsters game, but at least he hasn't lost his  _heart_! Not like you Seto Kaiba! You've spent so much time with your machines you forgot what being human is about!"

Seto Kaiba  _flinched_.

"Yugi has a heart Kaiba." she continued bringing her hand in front of her chest. "Yugi has  _us_. Friends that will stand with him to the end no matter if he wins or loses some lousy game. And what do  _you_ have Seto Kaiba?  _What do you have at the end of the day?_  Tell me!  _Tell me!_ " she shouted at him, fierce passion in her eyes. At that moment I felt respect toward this girl, because although she didn't appear like much, her heart was strong enough to put everyone else here to shame.

Especially people like Seto Kaiba. Or like me.

"I have all that I need!" he answered her angrily and turned around and walked to the door that led back inside the castle. I looked back at Ryou one last time and then followed him.

Because he had me as well. I couldn't leave him alone.

But now I had to pay the prize of my choice.

I had to go down all those bloody stairs again! It was what, the fourth time today? Seriously, this was getting rather annoying…

* * *

I had many chances to regret my decision to follow Kaiba in the time it took us to go back to the gates. By the time we got there, I was considering to try and get a piggyback ride out of him. How he could go down all these stairs so briskly was beyond me.

Kaiba placed the star chips in the special lock on the main entrance to the castle and the gates opened on their own. Could this Pegasus-creep get any creepier?

Kaiba went in without hesitating even a moment. Because apparently all doors open on their own in front of him. But you know what? The chap was Seto-bloody-Kaiba. So maybe they do.

"Here goes nothing…" I murmured and followed him inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Kind of a filler, I know, but we have to go through these things too. Though I do promise you that next chapter some very interesting things are going to happen…


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"You must be Mr. Kaiba Seto. Please follow me." A woman was waiting for him there, dressed in a black maid uniform. She seemed to be a bit younger than my father, with light blue hair and brown eyes. We followed her in some kind of waiting room, with three big red sofas with gold lining, a matching carpet and a big table in the middle.

"Please, have a seat and Master Pegasus will send for you shortly. Do you wish for me to bring you a refreshment sir?" she offered politely.

"No." answered Kaiba through gritted teeth and the maid gave a small curtsy and left. Kaiba refused to sit down and instead went to one of the large windows and stared at the scenery outside. I sighed and sat down, anxiousness weighting down on my stomach as I wondered how the gang was doing. I would have a flutter that Yugi wasn't remotely as happy as he was an hour ago, but I had faith in him. Somehow he would find a way to be here in time. I was also concerned about Kaiba. He was an idiot for not sticking with the others in the first place, but how could he know that he was going up against a Millennium Item?

Kaiba would have to put his heart and soul into this if he wanted to save the one he came here for and even then nothing was certain. He and I both could only hope.

* * *

Kaiba was getting angrier by the second but that made little difference to the fact that we were already waiting for over an hour. Pegasus was going out of his way to piss Kaiba off, that was for sure.

I sighed, walking yet again around the room, bored out of my skull. While I was in the process of examining one of the vases, I heard footsteps and turned hopefully twards the entrance of the room. Sure enough, there was a man with short blue-grey hair and a little mustache, wearing black sunglasses that made it impossible to see his eyes. He completed the "tough henchman" look with a grey suit and white shirt underneath.

"Mr. Kaiba I presume? I am Croquet, Master Pegasus's head of security. Follow me to the Duel Arena please. Master Pegasus will be with you shortly." he announced and exited the room without waiting for an answer.

Eventually we arrived in the room where the Duel Arena was supposed to be, however all there was there, was a big converter-belt-like bridge thing that connected one side of the room with the other. Where the floor was supposed to be though, there was only a huge gap. I walked a bit closer to Kaiba, who simply stood a few steps on the bridge-thing and waited. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, clutching his card locket tightly in his fist, almost as if he was sending a prayer. I felt weird for watching this; it seemed so personal it made me feel like a peeping tom. After a moment he raised his head once again and his eyes were like walls of steel.

The doors in the opposite side of the room opened wide and a man with shoulder-length silver hair that covered half of his face came in, He was wearing a stupid-looking red suit and the moment he noticed Kaiba, he sent a smirk his way. Two more blokes dressed similarly to Croquet were standing behind him.

Cor Blimey and I thought that after the Paradox brothers I had seen everything!

* * *

"Where's my brother?" demanded Kaiba immediately.

"What, no "hello", no "how are you"? And here I thought we were friends Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus exclaimed dramatically, walking towards Kaiba with his goons one step behind. "Don't tell me that kidnapping little Mokuba and seizing control of your company has put a rift between us? It was nothing personal. Besides it's not like I hurt your kid brother, he's perfectly safe! In fact," he said lowering his voice, "you can have him back if you like. Just beat me in a duel like we agreed and I'll hand him over! After all a stupid little victory shouldn't be a problem for the duel monsters World Champ!"

His hair parted and to my surprise I saw exactly where his Millennium Item was. Wow. Millennium Eye indeed. That man had traded his  _eye_  in order to put in its place that… thing. I couldn't tell whether there was a spirit inhabiting that Item as well, however I was past the point of being overly surprised at random evil or not-so-evil-anymore cameos from dead people.

Kaiba said nothing; Pegasus didn't even try to hide his provacation and Kaiba clearly refused to acknowledge it.

"Come now Kaiba, it's not right to keep us in suspense! Especially with an audience waiting in the wings!" he motioned with his head toward the ceiling. I raised my head to see what he was pointing at, only to see Ryou, his friends and that blonde chick from the night before. They were practically hanging from the rail of that balcony.

"Hey there Kaiba." greeted Yugi uneasily.

"Yugi! How could you be in here after I defeated you!" Kaiba responded in shock. At that I raised my brow. I didn't know that  _cheating by threatening to kill yourself_  counted as a valid victory… Then again this whole tournament didn't seem to abide by any rules that were in the least bit legal in other civilized parts of the planet. I should probably read the rule book. Kaiba closed his eyes. "I should have known you'd find a way." he murmured.

"I hope you are ready Kaiba, I've been looking forward for this for quite some time."

Kaiba merely smirked and opened his silver briefcase, presenting to Pegasus the Dueling Disks. He took one out and threw it at him. Pegasus barely managed to catch the Dueling Disk before it hit him on the head, staring at it in unfeigned surprise.

"Then I imagine you'll have no problem doing it with this." Kaiba told him mockingly, blatantly expecting Pegasus to feel intimidated. I watched as Pegasus feigned shock and then mocked Kaiba's newest discovery. Eventually, after a bunch of childish theatrics Pegasus agreed to use the Dueling Disks under the condition of someone else operating it for him.

"I assure you, I will still make all the strategic decisions, the game play won't change at all."

The amusement in his voice wasn't very promising and I moved closer to Kaiba, almost standing side by side with him. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and waited.

"Why make that request? Why not fight your own battle for once in your life?" demanded Kaiba enraged. Pegasus simply chuckled and clapped his hands twice.

"Show Kaiba the lad who will play as my pawn and he'll understand my request." he ordered calmly. The doors behind him opened and there was another one of Pegasus's bodyguards cuffed with a chain that its other end was attached to a little boy's wrist. I gasped at the same moment as Kaiba. Right there was a little kid, no more than ten years old! Was that Kaiba's...

"Kaiba's little brother!" shouted Yugi in shock, confirming my suspicions. My anger flared at that, more than I could ever think possible it would for the sake of a complete stranger. The little boy raised his head slowly, revealing eyes void of any and all traces of emotion, or even sentience.

"Mokuba!" yelled Kaiba and I could hear both relief and desperation in his voice. Mokuba's face didn't even flinch. "It's me…" whispered Kaiba. The guard chained to him walked to Pegasus and the boy obediently followed, his expression not changing once. What had they done to him?

Kaiba was shaking with anger. Pegasus smiled.

"I'm sorry if he doesn't seem quite his usual self. I seem to be able to control my prisoners better if I make an extraction of sorts."

"You… monster!" Kaiba managed to spit out, unable to control his rage any longer.

An extraction…

_"Yugi's Grandpa. Pegasus took his soul to force Yugi to compete in his tournament."_

I remembered the spirit of the Puzzle saying this to me a little bit before Kaiba showed up and dueled with Joey. I could never, even in my most crazy dreams, imagine that there was a person capable of doing this to a child. And yet… Mokuba was right there, with his expression vacant, not recognizing his own brother but obeying Pegasus's orders like a puppet. It was appaling, to see a little innocent boy like this.

"Now, now Kaiba-boy! Petty insults aren't the way to get your brother's  _soul_  back, don't you think?" Pegasus taunted with a grin, showing us a card with a Mokuba look-alike. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could not even imagine how Kaiba was feeling right now. If that was Ryou in that card over there, I would have clawed the man's eyes out with my bare hands.

"I told you that your little brother is perfectly safe and he  _is_. But for how long he remains that way is up to you…" Pegasus continued. "Beat me in a duel and his soul will be released. But fail and his soul not only will remain in bondage, but  _yours will join it_."

* * *

He had sent Mokuba's soul to the Shadow Realm.

I knew the concept all too well, having witnessed Bakura declaring the rules of a Shadow Game enough times in the past. This time though, this wasn't one of those. Most likely, Pegasus was too afraid of losing and ending up trapped in there himself, so he preferred to play dirty and just leave the decision to himself after the game was finished.

It was disgusting. Even Bakura had played with more honor than that. And Bakura was a seasoned cheater with a taste for agony and despair.

"To save your brother you'll have to defeat me!"

"Defeat you! I'll  _crush_  you!" screamed Kaiba, finally snapping.

"So it's settled. We'll use your new invention but your brother will operate it for me."

Kaiba was frozen in shock, his mouth hanging open. I looked in disgust over at where the bodyguard cuffed to Mokuba gave the little boy the Dueling Disk. While I could understand such cruelty coming from a wielder of the Millennium Items, I could not really comprehend why none of Pegasus's employees seemed to question a broken child in a dungeon.

"Pegasus wait!"

"What's the matter Kaiba-boy, this was your idea! Using your newest system sure gives you quite the advantage! What's the problem?" he pretended to wonder, practically laughing.

Kaiba growled but his decision would be blatant to an infant.

"He's been through enough already… Okay then Pegasus you win." he finally backed down, barely able to keep his shaking under control. "We won't use it! We'll duel on your terms. Just keep my little brother out of this." I shook my head as more anger boiled inside me. It was hideous to see someone toying with so many lives, someone that nothing could touch.

Pegasus said something in Mokuba's ear and then commanded his bodyguards to take him away.

"You creep!" yelled Kaiba.

"You are Seto Kaiba. Surely you can come up with a better bloody insult than that." I murmured.

"Watch yourself Kaiba, you are in  _my_  world now." answered Pegasus and snapped his fingers, all amusement gone from his demeanor. The bridge separated in half suddenly and I almost fell down. From the bottom of the gap beneath us a Duel Arena was raised.

Talk about waste of money. Bloody show-off.

I watched in awe as the setting up of the Duel Arena was finished and the life points of both players were set on 2000.

"Ready Kaiba? Your brother's fate hangs in the balance." warned Pegasus mockingly.

" _Kaiba_! You  _have_  to believe in the Heart of the Cards, it's the only way to rescue Mokuba!" shouted Yugi above our heads as Kaiba took out his deck.

"Huh? Keep out of this! I'm fighting this duel my  _own_ way!"

"Just don't forget that it takes more than a strong monster and a good strategy to win this! His Millennium Eye changes  _everything_! You  _have_  to-"

"Yug! Don't forget that Kaiba's the guy who took five of your stars!" interrupted Joey. I glared at him furiously. With  _two_  souls at stake, star chips should be the least of their worries. It was not like Joey and the rest of Yugi's friends had not experienced a Shadow Game before, even a mockery of one such as this.

"Yugi. You are a good duelist but I don't need your help. It's my battle to fight now and I  _will win_!" answered Kaiba and placed his deck on the board. "We've known each other for a long time. And now we'll see if the Master is the Duel Monsters creator or the Champion!" he addressed Pegasus.

You'd think he had bigger worries than that…

" _Let's duel!_ "

* * *

The duel was over pretty fast. Within less than half an hour, Pegasus had managed to trash Kaiba's faith in his cards and cripple his deck, living him with nothing but Sagi the Dark Clown and no other monster. There was nothing left for him to do anymore.

"Mokuba. I have tried my very best." said Kaiba quietly. I stood silently beside him and placed my hand atop his own. I couldn't offer him anything else.

"He knows it Kaiba." I whispered as though he could hear me. I knew it was pointless and I knew that Mokuba most definitely had no idea, but I felt compelled to offer some sort of consolation.

"Your best failed you Kaiba! Kikori Marx! Emerge and attack!" shouted Pegasus, sick satisfaction clear in his voice.

**Kikori Marx Attack:**   **2300**

**Kikori Marx Defense: 2000**

A ridiculous excuse of a toon monster came out of a box and, taking a scythe out of its mouth attacked Kaiba's last monster, finishing the duel.

"Forgive me Mokuba. I am so sorry." murmured Kaiba one last time.

Pegasus' taunts didn't seem to fase Kaiba, he was already lost. I knew that feeling of failure and I knew the pain that accompanied it. He could do nothing more than wait now.

As Pegasus' Eye activated I almost instictivelly jumped off the platform, not really caring to get caught up in its magic. I felt Kaiba's soul slipping away and the next thing I heard was laughter. Blatantly, having a soul trapped in the Shadow Realm was truly amusing for Pegasus. I hated that sick madman, who considered demolishing peoples' lives a hobby, something to laugh about.

He was nothing but a cold-hearted monster, a child that didn't give a bugger about the pain he caused while trying to obtain what he wanted. I hated him.

He held both cards that contained the souls of Mokuba and Seto Kaiba in front of him, staring at them in unabashed glee. Like he had just won a well-desrved trophy.

"Ah, the brothers Kaiba! One in each hand! But even though your cards are so very close, your souls have never been farther apart!" I took some deep calming breaths in order to keep myself in check; otherwise I wouldn't be able to stand this. I wanted to crush him, squeeze his heart until it gave in under the pressure and feel his blood on my hands. His bloody Millennium Item was the only thing protecting him. I didn't plan to end up in the Shadow Realm when I had just barely gotten out. "At least when only Mokuba was captured you both lived in the same dimension! But now… now you are  _worlds_  apart!" he finished, laughing again. He motioned to his bodyguards towards Kaiba with his head. "Take away that empty shell. He could wash dishes or something."

" _Why Pegasus? Who are you to toy with our friends and families?"_  I jumped from surprise at the sudden scream of rage. I felt the same but what was that actually surprised me was that the one with so much anger in his eyes was Yugi. " _I won't let you get away with it!_ "

Pegasus simply chuckled and looked at him challengingly. However, his expression turned to one of shock, when suddenly the spirit took over Yugi, sending Pegasus a glare far more intimidating and scary than Yugi could ever have mastered.

"Pegasus! It won't be long now till I put an end to your games!"

"Yugi-boy, don't forget you still have to make it through the remaining rounds of this tournament to even  _win_  the privilege of challenging me!"

The spirit gritted his teeth. "Rest assured, I'll be at the finals! But believe me, the true privilege will be defeating you and undoing all the evil actions you've committed against my friends!"

"I look forward to your finest efforts Yugi-boy!" he answered with a laugh. "And of course a wonderful performance from the rest of our finalists! You truly are the best of the best!" he said with a smirk, leaving the room.

Quickly, I jumped over the platform and ran through the Duel Arena. I didn't really know why I did this, other than I would feel much better knowing where AKiba and Mokuba would be kept. I followed him along with Croquet and two others as he passed many corridors, until we arrived at a secluded, narrow one through which only one person at a time could walk on. At the end of it I could make out… stairs.

That's right. Stairs.

Lots and lots of them actually. I felt like crying.

Sucking up my pain, I climbed them right behind him. When we reached the top, he took a rose-shaped locket and pushed it inside the lock. I heard a faint "click" and he placed it back in his pocket.

A specially designed lock for which the key was one of a kind and belonged solely to him. Whatever was in there must be extremely valuable for someone to go to such lengths to protect it.

The room in itself was plain and without any of the luxury that was evident in every other room I've been in. Instead, the walls were painted a soft cream color and the only furniture were a simple table that served as a desk and a chair. He placed the cards next to another soul card that depicted an old man with the same bangs as Yugi's covering his face. This should be Yugi's Grandfather.

Pegasus went to the other side of the room where a wall-sized portrait of a lady was. She was young, with long, curly blonde hair and sea-blue eyes. He touched it softly, sadness washing all over his face. He seemed almost… human.

"My Cecelia. My darling, darling Cecelia. It won't be long now…" he whispered tenderly. I was curious, but since there was nothing else I would be able to gather from him, I took a closer look around the room without finding anything that could be of any particular interest to me. As I waited for Pegasus to leave, I began wondering if the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle would be able to release the trapped souls from the cards like he had done with mine.

Eventually, after recording today's events in some kind of diary, Pegasus took another look to the portrait and left.

I wondered who that Cecelia was. I could easily guess that she was an important someone but who? A wife? A sister?

Not that it mattered.

* * *

I found my way to Ryou, our hours-long seperation beginning to chow on my nerves. It had been... a while since I could be with him and I had spent the entire day running around with strangers. I had missed him a lot and it was a relief to see him again, no missing pieces or anything of the sort. The members of the gang said their goodnights and each went to their room. As Yugi reached for his own door I decided that it was as good a time as any to talk to the spirit.

First I had to make him come out. With Bakura it was always relatively easy- either he'd be out and about on his own or, in the very rare case that I needed to ask or tell him something immediately, insulting him had worked wonders. That bloke was quick to respond with a flashy Ring show where he found himself obligated to remind me "who was in charge". If it wasn't so bloody painful, I would have tried it on a more regular basis- seeing the vein in his temple about to pop would have been worth it. However this time I had no intention of making anyone's veins pop, on the contrary I had to share some very important news. I took a moment to think about it and then I decided that if Bakura had been capable of listening to me from inside the Ring rant about him none too favorably, screaming at the top of my lungs in an almost empty corridor should do the trick.

"Hey spirit? Are you in there?" I yelled. I looked around me, however he was nowhere to be seen. I frowned a bit and moved closer to Yugi, thinking that maybe the triangular shape had something to do with the echo in that place.

"Behind you Amane."

"Bloody hell!" I shrieked in surprise, whirling around to face him. "Where did you come from?"

The spirit stared at me bemused, smirking slightly. "From the Puzzle of course, where else could I come from?"

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" I demanded pissed. His only response was a look of absolute innosence that would only convince an old, blind, deaf and fingerless lady with Alzheimer. Glaring at him I opened my mouth to start the yelling, but he quickly cut in.

"Can I help you with something?"

"You said yesterday night that your Millennium Puzzle allows you to put souls back to their originals bodies right?" I questioned.

He sighed. "It won't work. I don't even know where the soul cards are and even if I did, I cannot bring a person back from the Shadow Realm when I was not the one to send it there."

"But you brought  _me_  back! And you made Bakura's and Ryou's soul trade places during your game! And  _I_ know where the cards are!"

"That was different. I didn't try to take Ryou out of there. And besides, I need to offer an equal amount of souls for them to be released and even then I don't know if it will work without the permission of the one who sent them there in the first place." he replied. "And how do you know where the cards are?"

"I followed Pegasus!" I answered, swelled with pride.

"Of course you did." he sighed. Suddenly he seemed to lose all of his good mood and after hesitating for a moment he said what was that was eating him. "We need to talk. About what happened this morning."

At his words I went cold. I really had thought that he wouldn't have the nerve to lecture me after what he had almost done.

"You are not one to talk when you are no better than me."

Even I was surprised by how cold my voice sounded. The spirit seemed taken aback for a moment before regaining his composure, looking back at me calmly.

"Grandpa's soul is on the line. I couldn't just hand the duel over to him."

"But  _Yugi_  did.  _Yugi_ wanted to hand over the duel because he didn't want to be the one to harm Kaiba. What  _you_ did was try to override his desire and finish it before he took back control. So let us not have this particular conversation since none of us is exactly fit to be on the moral highground."

"I am not proud of my actions, I assure you. However I needed to get to the castle and at the time, Kaiba was standing in the way."

I raised my brow incredulously. "So you decided to remove him?"

To his credit, he did look as if he meant every word he said next. "I forgot that Kaiba was fighting for someone he loved too. I will not forgive myself for what happened on the tower, not unless Yugi does. I can't. However," he continued, "that doesn't change what you did Amane. Why did you try to attack Bakura?"

"I am fairly certain we had that cleared up already. It was not... intentional. It will not happen again, ever. I will not let Ryou get hurt."

"Maybe you should be more careful than you think."

"You-"

"I have someone to hold me back. And Yugi and his friends have taught me a lot of things since I was first awakened. But you do not have that sort of guidance."

"Maybe because I have no need for that sort of guidance. It was a bad moment."

"You tried to kill him!"

"Oh look who's talking!"

He clenched his fists but his face remained cold. "I don't know what happened to you in the Shadow Realm. But what I do know is that the girl who begged me to help her brother out is not here anymore."

"Oh? And how pray tell, would you know anything about me? For all  _you_ know I could be trying to lit Ryou on fire for the past.." I stopped, making a quick calculation in my head. "... eight years."

"You are right Amane, I don't really know you. But that day, when you helped me protect my friends, there was that glint in your eyes that made me believe in you. You wanted to protect your brother and you did- in more ways than one. I never thought for a second that that light would be extinguished when I came for you."

At his words,I failed to hold back a chuckle. "And look where that got me. I would hate to burst any daft bubbles of yours, but that so-called  _light_  you saw? It's called fear and I assure you it is very much present." I looked him dead in the eye and continued. "I have no idea what you imagine you saw back then. However, I do find myself obligated to assure you that my only concern then and now is Ryou. I would never hurt him. It was just... I didn't mean to hurt him. I couldn't have anyway, you said so yourself."

Even in my own ears, I sounded desperate. Pictures of my earlier encounter with the man in the sunglasses raced through my head.

The spirit did not reply, however he kept his eyes trained on mine, as if trying to see through me- and it felt like he was gazing right into my soul. Although he was a kinder person than Bakura, his own eyes seemed to hold a bit of the very same darkness and the same ruthlessness if need arose. He had proved more than once that the means hardly mattered when it came to achieving what he felt obligated to achieve and I was thankful that his actions acted as a reminder of that. Despite myself, I couldn't help the small bit of gratitude I felt towards him and I knew that gratitude was a misleading emotion.

"You can't promise that you will not try to harm someone else and we both have seen how this can turn out. You are dangerous to both Bakura and those around you. But keep in mind that I will not allow you to harm any of my friends-Bakura involved. I don't want to harm you either."

_But I will if I have to._

I opened my mouth to retort, but he vanished before I had the chance. I stood there for a while, before huffing and turning the other way.

"You bloody wanker."

* * *

I had no idea where to go. My original plan, to spend the night with Ryou didn't feel like a good choice at this moment. I would prefer the company, unaware of me as he might have been, however I decided that being afraid of the dark was not really a good reason to risk being around him without some sort of guarantee that I would not... for lack of a better word, snap. I had chosen to ignore the danger, but whether I liked it or not the spirit was right.

Flashbacks of the bandana-wearing man in the tower flooded my head.

Yeah, definitely better spend the night alone. After a moment of consideration, I decided that Pegasus's secret room was ideal for the job.

I expected to see nothing changed from when I left- and I didn't. Everything was in place but with one little addition. Well, a big addition really, one that was blond and approximately 5'7 ft high. The beautiful ballgown was violet with pink lace at the hem, her puffy blonde hair reaching almost to her thighs. The woman had her back to me, staring at the big portrait on the wall, but then again it wasn't that hard to identify her. I had seen her only this evening after all.

"And who might you be?"

Her voice was soft and melodic, exactly what you would expect form the woman at the portrait. I was frozen in place from surprise, and when she turned fully around to glare at me I felt my mouth falling to the floor, although I had more or less expected to see exactly what I did.

This was the woman from the portrait alright. Same light blue eyes, same humongous ribbons adorning the front of her dress- and she was dead.

"Well?" she questioned with a raised brow, a hint of impatience in her voice.

"I- I- are you…?" I racked my brain to find the name Pegasus had used. "Are you Cecelia?"

Her brow went even further up. "I was the one to ask you first. Who are you?"

"Oh right. Uh-" I cleared my throat and bowed a little bit. " I am Bakura Amane, pleased to meet you."

"My name is Cecelia Pegasus, pleased to meet you too." she introduced herself as well, visibly less tense.

The shock of my discovery was quickly turning into excitement. I had come here to find some peace in order to think and instead I had found another spirit. No, not just another spirit but a _regular_  spirit, if such a thing was... well, a thing. No overpowered super cursed magical thingamagicks with the ability to send people to Shadow Realms or anything. Just your average run-of-the-mill ghost. I had to admit it was somewhat relieving.

"And what, pray tell is so interesting?" she demanded, sounding amused.

"Um, well. It's your... dress." I mumbled dimly, embarassed at being caught staring like a dimwit at someone. Okay, maybe I wasn't exactly "caught", since I had made no effort to hide it from the start. "It's so... bowie."

_Good one Amane. I am certain no one has ever thought of a better lie._

She chuckled at my answer, placing her hand in front of her mouth. "So it is." she replied, still laughing. "Now," she said when she finally stopped, "what are you doing here?"

She had still a smile on her face, however her eyes were hard. "I just wanted to be alone for a while. I thought I'd come here." I answered, trying to sound nonchalant.

"And how did you find it in the first place? It's not exactly the type of place you just come upon randomly." she insisted, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"I followed Pegasus this evening."

"Why?"

"I was curious about where he would take the souls of the ten-year-old and his big brother that he trapped in the Shadow Realm today." I almost spat at her, instantly regretting my tone. "Um, no offense or anything, but it is not exactly the kind of thing that endears one to others."

"No, it isn't." she agreed softly, averting her gaze. We sat in silence for a few minutes, me scanning the room with my gaze and her staring outside the window. I felt excited to finally find someone else like me, at long last. I was still a bit dazed by that new discovery of mine, my head filled with questions. I wanted to learn more about this mysterious Cecelia, however I was not certain of the extend of her involvement in Pegasus's schemes. The longing in his voice when he had said her name this evening was too real. It was doubtful she was actually involved directly, but I couldn't also assume that she was not on board with whatever plan he had.

"Why are you here?" she asked me out of the blue, staring at me curiously.

"My broher's friends are competing in the tournament."

"Don't play dumb with me."

I shifted my eyes back to the wall. "I am not. I told you, my brother's friends are competing in the tournament."

"I see."

The silence that followed this time was more comfortable. I didn't feel particularly eager to be the one to break it since it seemed to take a more personal hue than I would like. At the same time however I wanted to learn more about this woman beside me. She was just like me- it was exilerating, the knowledge that for once I could stand on equal terms with someone that was just like me.

Sadly, Cecelia did not seem to feel that way about me.

"How did you die? How long has it been?"

"I was eight. It was a car accident. My Mom died then as well."

Seemingly innocent questions, however there was that hardness again in her eyes. All of a sudden, being alone with her did not seem quite as comforting as it did a minute ago. I stood up to leave.

"Well, it's past bed time now you know and I really should get going..." I began excusing myself, however she would have none of that.

"Please, do stay a while longer. It's not like you are actually going to sleep." she rolled her eyes, dismissing me. Normally I would have just turned on my heel right there but at the end of the day I really didn't want to offend her. She could be a friend... right? I sighed theatrically and sat back down.

"Why did you stay back?" I asked her, deciding t voice my curiosity mre directly than she did before.

She quirked her brow but nodded nonetheless. "Very well. But please, let us go somewhere else; I don't like strangers into this room. It's our sanctuary."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the sheer corny-ness of that sentence but followed her anyway, to a large study with an unused fireplace, two matching chairs in front of it and a  _lot_  of books on the bookshelves that covered the walls.

_The only thing missing now is a glass of wine and a cigar each._

Taking our seats, Cecelia's clothes evaporated and were instanly replaced by a white turtleneck and a knee-length purple skirt. I blinked a few times, allowing what had happened be fully processed into my mind.

"How the bugger did  _that_ happen...?" I asked, not fully comprehending the scene before me.

"How did what happen? My clothes?" I nodded and she sent a strange look my way, before her eyes lit up in realisation. "You can't do this."

"This is the face of a person who can do this." I answered, raising my eyebrow.

"Can you manipulate energy at all?"

"Quite a bit. It's mostly for... battle... purposes...?"

_And random murdering sprees._

_Shut up voice._

It was her eyebrows' turn to shoot up. "Battle purposes?"

"It depends on one's definition of one-sided manslaughter."

If possible, her eyebrows went further up, her eyes widening slightly. "One-sided manslaughter?"

I did not respond and she studied me for a moment longer. "I think you and I must have a chat regarding responsibility."

"I am not the one doing the slaughtering!"

"I think you and I must have a chat in general."

"After you Mrs. Pegasus."

"Max and I met at a party many years ago." she began. "My mother is the CEO of a well-known technology and consulting corporation that manufactures and markets computer-related hardware and software and has a presence in recent advanced technological developments. I was to be given the majority of its assets and assume control of it when she and my father decided it was time for them to withdraw. As you can probably tell, that didn't happen." she said, sorrow evident in her voice. "I got married to Max at the age of seventeen."

I opened my mouth to comment but she stopped me, raising a finger. "I know it's too early. But we loved each other. We had been friends for years and at the time we wanted something to keep us connected since I would soon leave for Harvard to study business and he would go to Yale University to study Liberal Arts. That was when I was diagnosed with a very rare disease. I slowly lost my memory, my ability to speak and my very sense of self."

She was trying to preserve her composure. She was doing a great job out of it too. But her hands were shaking slightly and I could see why. Whatever prompted this woman to speak in detail of what her death had entailed didn't make it any easier. Mine had been easy. Brief flashes of pain, a few crunching sounds, my name on my Mother's lips and then nothing. Hers had been slow and decidedly unpleasant.

"Max was in horrible pain, although at the time I could hardly process it. My own family made sure that I had the best medical care and offered an astronomical amount to related research done by medical companies at the time. But of course this disease is incurable. I died about a year after it began." she stopped to take a few slow breaths. "When I woke up, I was in a morgue. It took me a while to fully accept my... condition."

Boy, don't I bloody know it.

"Max was devastated of course. He abandoned his studies and immersed himself in searching the entire world for something that could revive the dead. He went everywhere. His father eventually despaired and made sure he would never come to control his company and after offering him a respectable sum of money, kicked him out and essentially told him that he was on his own. Max hardly paid heed to the fact that he had sealed his own fate." she licked her lips as if they had gone dry. "He was a wreck. I wish I will never have to see him like this. He would spend the day half-drunk and the night drunk off his mind. He still isn't completely rid of the habit. But I digress. His journey led him to Egypt. He had hardly set foot on Egyptian soil when he met that man."

"That man?"

She eyed me in slight disdain. "Mind your manners Amane. It is very rude to interrupt."

I couldn't even comment on the fact that I had just been reprimanded for my manners. There were some things that just didn't happen. Ignoring my gaping face, Cecelia continued.

"It seemed pretty accidental at the time, however given the results of that meeting and those that followed, I have a lot of doubts. But the point is, Pegasus followed that man and came to be in possession of that thing." her expression turned to one of disgust. "The Millennium Eye. He allowed the man to pull out his eyeball and replace it with the Millennium Eye. Just to get a glimpse of my face."

_And here I thought I was the weird one with the issues..._

"I am sure he did catch one. Only it could not possibly be  _my_ face. I was standing right behind him and he was hugging nothing but thin air." she explained, her expression showing no more emotion. "Max continued his research and he soon learned of the ancient Shadow Games that were played in ancient Egypt and became obsessed with their powers. So he returned back to United States immediately. The fact that he had been disowned had remained a secret to preserve the reputation of his family, and he took advantage of his family's name to be given a loan from a bank. He used it as a starting point for the creation of Industrial Illusions and his new game of Duel Monsters became viral. As you may already know, he is among the richest and most powerful men in the world of business. But of course his is not satisfied. No. What he really desires is KaibeCorp and the Millennium Items."

"I fail to see the connection between the cursed Ancient Artifacts of Doom and the geek corp." I commented. Of course I was vaguely familiar with KaibaCorp. I had met its owner a while ago and watched his soul being sucked into eternal damnation, as well as the Millennium Puzzle spirit's info dump regarding their holographic technology. And of course, my brother was very interested in roleplaying games and had began building a small deck himself by the time I... left him.

"He believes that by combining the technology of KaibaCorp with the magic of all seven of the Millennium Items, he will be able to ressurect me as I was before... before the disease."

I just looked Cecelia in the eye. It was all I could do really. What she was saying was so unbelievably impossibe, so absolutely  _insane_ to even talk about. There were some things that one couldn't do. The limits of humanity itself. People died when they were killed. And  _stayed_ that way. There was absolutely no possibility of the dead ever returning, which was also a god thing seeing as that one never goes well in movies or series and I don't feel like eating anyone's brains.

"It may be possible you know. Maybe he has a way." she finally said in a small voice.

I finally blinked. Twice. It was a considerable achievement considering what I was hearing.

"The Millennium Items are powerful. All seven of them, combined, can accomplish anything. Maybe even that. And my mind is back to what it was before it all began. And with a new body, there would be nothing to fear. Think of it Amane. All those years we were cheated out of. That were  _stolen_ from us. Maybe we can get them back."

I closed my eyes. This woman was talking crazy. There was no such possibility. Ever. I understood her desire because I harbored the same once upon a time. To come back to life. To be solid, seen, heard. To be finally able to give Ryo back his father and the family he deserved and to be once more part of it. But those dreams were childish and dim witted. I stood up from my chair and turned towards the exit. I knew if I stayed a minute longer listening to her I would snap and that would end badly for one of us.

"You are insane. The both of you." I spat, not turning my head to look at her. "You walk all over others' lives for something as idiotic as an unobtainable dream. Three people lost to the Shadow Realm. What about them? Acceptable sacrifices? You were a waste of my time- and that should say something considering I planned on spending my time doing nothing."

"I never said I approve of his methods. But it is a beautiful dream to have, isn't it? I wish to be alive and I wish it more than anything else. But not like this. Not if it comes on the cost of Max's soul."

"And for the love of God, stop being so bloody dramatic!"

"Excuse me?"

"Stop it. Shut up. Pegasus is no victim with the heart full of warm and fuzzy feelings. He is insane. Look at what he's done. You do not approve of his methods? You know who else doesn't? The three people he imprisoned in the Shadow Realm. You really believe he will release them? Give me a break."

"I understand your anger. But only I know what he's been through. I just hope that he will understand soon that he is mistaken. No, I  _know_  he'll see it. I assure you, he wasn't like that before and he isn't a bad person now. You'll see." she whispered the final phrase, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than me. "I know it's impossible. There are fundamental flaws in his logic, the greatest of which is that he assumes he will be able to control the Items. Those things are... wrong. Filthy. Being in their presense puts a strain on my very existence. Whoever made them must have been-"

"Sick."

"Or very desperate."

I shook my head. "I should be going now. I haven't seen Ryou almost the entire day and he might have already found a way to get hurt. I'll see you tomorrow. Right?" I inquired hesitantly. I was still mad at her but that did nothing to the ever-growing curiosity I had for her. It was stupid but I already felt slightly attached to this woman.

She gave me a small smile, that did not fully reach her eyes. "Yes. Goodnight Amane. I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded and left.

* * *

I walked fast back to the room assigned to Ryou. All the short way there, what Cecelia had said about the slight possibility of revival kept turning into my head. I had disregarded it viciously and still did. But that did nothing to squash the nagging thought that persisted. Once I reached the door to Ryo's room I rubbed my temples as if that would send any and all my problems away.

When I entered the room I could almost instantly tell that something was wrong. Something was  _really_  wrong. And it was not because Ryou was half fallen from his bed and snoring loudly. I hadn't had that feeling since…

My eyes widened in fear. "God, please no…" I whispered fearfully. I could be wrong, I wished with everything that I had that I was wrong but this feeling was disgustingly familiar and it was supposed to be forever gone. I immediately made a run for the door, my first instict to go seek help from the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, only to bump onto something and fall on my butt.

"That hurt…" I muttered, rubbing my back.

"Did it now?"

I opened my eyes and looked up. I took in the white over-the-top-spiky hair, the cold brown eyes. I sighed inwardly. That bloke just couldn't stay in one place.

I stood up slowly and looked at him straight in the eye. He seemed barely able to control his anger, like he was willing me to catch on fire right that instant. I had to do something and I had to do it fast. But I had a fraction of a second to put my plan into action and seeing as he was blocking the execution of a very important step of Plan A, meaning the door, I had to go with Plan B.

I took a deep breath before I lunged myself at him, hugging him tightly.

"Bakura! I missed you  _so much_!"

In case anyone is wondering, no, I don't think I can sink any lower than that.

Yeah, that was the best I could come up with.

Real smooth Amane.

_This should be fun..._

_Shut up voice._

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In order to redeem myself I made this chapter a lot longer than usual. So review! I will give you ice cream, any flavor available! :D Special thanks to TTY7 for giving me the idea about how Cecelia and Amane meet. You rock sista!
> 
> And remember: R&R, constructive criticism welcomed, flames thrown over a cliff along with the flamer. :)
> 
> (Edited: 9/11/2015)
> 
> This turned out longer than I imagined... XD
> 
> As an added info bonus: THe corporation that belongs to Cecelia's mother may sound to some eeily familiar to IMB. That's because I copy-pasted from their Wikipedia page. So to have my bases covered, I don't own it. Shame. Damn shame if I say so myself, but it's the truth.
> 
> Cecelia's incurable disease is mentioned as exactly that- Cecelia in the anime and manga apparently died from a disease named Incurable Disease. As she is the one behind the villainous plan of one Maximillion Pegasus I took some liberties. The disease I chose is named Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. The symptoms of CJD contain rapidly progressive dementia, leading to memory loss, personality changes, and hallucinations. Other frequently occurring features include anxiety, depression, paranoia, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and psychosis. This is accompanied by physical problems such as speech impairment, jerky movements (myoclonus), balance and coordination dysfunction (ataxia), changes in gait, rigid posture, and seizures. The duration of the disease varies greatly, but sporadic (non-inherited) CJD can be fatal within months or even weeks. In some people, the symptoms can continue for years. In most patients, these symptoms are followed by involuntary movements and the appearance of an atypical diagnostic electroencephalogram tracing. Most victims die six months after initial symptoms appear, often of pneumonia due to impaired coughing reflexes. About 15% of patients survive for two or more years. Some patients have been known to live 4–5 years with mostly psychological symptoms until the disease progresses causing more physical symptoms leading to a diagnosis and inevitable death usually within the first year of diagnosis. The symptoms of CJD are caused by the progressive death of the brain's nerve cells, which is associated with the build-up of abnormal prion proteins forming amyloids. When brain tissue from a CJD patient is examined under a microscope, many tiny holes can be seen where whole areas of nerve cells have died. The word "spongiform" in "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies" refers to the sponge-like appearance of the brain you can see... decidedly unpleasant doesn't even begin to cover it.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that should be enough. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!


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